Imaginary
by Demon Vampyre Goddess
Summary: (Complete) He was the last person they thought would lose it. Once so cheerful and optimistic, Duo Maxwell now is lost, slipping further away from a reality that can only hear his screams...Can he be saved before it's too late? (2x5, 3x4, 1xR)
1. Chapter 1

Well, DVG's back yet again with yet another angsty fic. ^___^ After working so much on 'Blood Lust', I had so many ideas swirling around in my brain that it drove me nuts...which inspired me to write this. Don't worry, I'm still going to get the last chapter to 'Blood Lust' out within the next day or two, I just had to get this out of my system. *ahem* So on with all the legal crap...  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or anything associated with it, they belong to all the rich Japanese people who do own them. *sigh* Does owning all the Gundam models and DVDs count? *sweatdrop* I also do not own the song 'Imaginary' by Evanescence. It belongs to Evanescence. Go figure. I suggest maybe even listening to the song while reading. ^__^  
  
Warnings: Angst, insanity, angst, impending yaoi (guy/guy) relationship, angst, language, angst, oh yeah, did I mention angst? The pairings are gonna be 2x5 and insinuations of 3x4 with a dash of 1xR (*shiver* I HATE Relena, just for the record). Also, this chapter is in first-person POV, Duo's POV to be exact. You get to see into the mind of the insane. ^____^  
  
Did I forget anything? Oh well, if I did, well, I get to it in the second chapter.  
  
Reviews would be greatly appreciated!  
  
***  
  
Imaginary  
  
_________________________________________________________________ ______________  
  
***  
  
//I linger in the doorway//  
  
//Of alarm clock screaming//  
  
//Monsters calling my name//  
  
//Let me stay//  
  
//Where the wind will whisper to me//  
  
//Where the raindrops//  
  
//As they're falling tell a story//  
  
You have to admit; I was the last person anyone thought would go crazy.  
  
Me, Duo Maxwell, Gundam pilot 02, self-proclaimed God of Death who was always grinning like an idiot and chattering away like there was no tomorrow. Well, during the wars one did expect that day to be your last, not knowing if you'd wake up the next morning or find yourself looking down from Heaven at your grave, so you had to live on a day by day basis. I have to admit- I'm surprised I'm still alive.  
  
But you see where that got me?  
  
//In my field of paper flowers//  
  
//And candy clouds of lullaby//  
  
//I lie inside myself for hours//  
  
//And watch my purple sky fly over me//  
  
A nice little padded room with restraints and sedatives.  
  
I suppose I should have known that this was inevitable, given my history and with every day passing that found myself still alive losing a little bit more of my sanity. You see; one can only survive so much death and destruction before it takes its toll on you.  
  
Ah, now don't get me wrong, I didn't call myself Shinigami for nothing. I've witnessed plenty of nameless soldiers die at my hand and had not been affected by it, in fact I think I laughed at that, should've been the first hint that I was losing it. But no, it's the people I knew who died because of me and the grieving families who spend every waking second of my life reminding me of the horrors I committed for 'peace' that I've gotten where I am now.  
  
Yeah, we're getting to the crazy part.  
  
//Don't say I'm out of touch//  
  
//With this rampant chaos- your reality//  
  
//I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge//  
  
//The nightmare I built, my own world to escape//  
  
The other Gundam pilots have always asked me, in varying degrees of annoyance, why I constantly 'chatter' and can never sit still.  
  
"Maxwell, will you shut up!" Wufei was so caring sometimes.  
  
"Omae wo kuruso." Heero of course added the pointing of his loaded gun to my face with that.  
  
"Duo, would you please sit still for a while and relax?" Quatre and his ever-so-gentlemanly self, basically saying the same thing as Heero and Wufei, but nicer. You would think with his little Space Heart he would have noticed something was wrong with me, even if I hadn't at the time, but he didn't.  
  
Trowa just didn't say anything at all. Typical.  
  
Well, I won't lie, I can't lie, I'm Shinigami. To tell you the truth, I hated the silence. I don't know how Heero and Trowa put up with it. In the silence, the voices can get to me. Blaming me for the deaths, haunting my dreams and tormenting my mind.  
  
'It's all your fault.'  
  
'If you had only moved quicker, I wouldn't have died.'  
  
'If you hadn't gone off to steal that mobile suit, they wouldn't have destroyed our church and killed us.'  
  
'It's all your fault.'  
  
'You killed our husbands.'  
  
'You killed our wives.'  
  
'You killed our fathers.'  
  
'You killed our mothers.'  
  
'Weren't you the one who despised war because it made orphans like us?'  
  
'You killed our children.'  
  
'And it's all your fault.'  
  
'Everything's your fault.'  
  
Have a bitter taste of what I put up with all the time and you'll understand why I'm laying here in my nice padded room in restraints and sedatives coursing through my veins. I couldn't keep them away after the wars; I didn't have anyone to talk to, no missions, no more battles. Heero went off to be a bodyguard for Relena, Trowa and Quatre took control of the Winner Enterprises together, and Sally had coaxed Wufei into joining the Preventers. I tried talking to myself, but it didn't work. I moved constantly, but that only tired me and my savings account out after a while and the voices still didn't go away.  
  
So I started screaming.  
  
//Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming//  
  
//Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights//  
  
//Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming//  
  
Screaming made those voices go away real quick. They don't like the loud noise. As long as I scream, I wouldn't have to hear them accusing me of all the death that followed in my path.  
  
Unfortunately, screaming continually clearly isn't a normal thing to do. Someone called the police; can you believe they thought I was murdering some poor girl? I didn't realize how feminine I sounded until then...and I was carted off to the nearest insane asylum.  
  
Imagine that.  
  
One of the great Gundam pilots in a mental institution and a straight jacket.  
  
I would laugh at that absurd notion, but in my current drugged state, not to mention my shredded vocal chords, I can't laugh at the moment. Though the keepers outside my door might find the laughter even more disturbing than the screaming and try to stick more needles in me, so neither way doesn't seem too pleasant. I'll laugh here in my head, can't be worse then hearing the voices, can it?  
  
Hahahaha...Yeesh, all this thinking really gets a guy exhausted. Then again, it could be the sedatives finally kicking in.  
  
But I can't sleep either. No, my dreams are full of the voices, and worse, images to kindly accompany them in their torture of my fragile 'psyche'. Ha, and the psychiatrist thought I wasn't listening to his doctor-mumbo jumbo when I got brought into his examination room. Just because I was screaming doesn't mean I wasn't listening...  
  
//In my field of paper flowers//  
  
//And candy clouds of lullaby//  
  
//I lie inside myself for hours//  
  
//And watch my purple sky fly over me//  
  
Hey, the keepers are opening the door; someone actually noticed I was missing and was considerate enough to come visit poor little Duo in his nice padded room with his restraints and sedatives...  
  
Can't see who it is...  
  
Too tired...  
  
Damn sedatives...  
  
***  
  
*sweatdrop* After writing that story about vampires and slayers, this seems almost like child's play to write. Ah well, in the next chapter we will have a regular third-person POV and see what the other G-boys think of Duo's lapse into insanity.  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Just keep note that all flames will be used to roast my marshmellows... 


	2. Chapter 2

I was gonna wait and post this when I had the last chapter to 'Blood Lust' finished, but seeing how it isn't, and this chapter having been ready for posting for like three days now, I decided to post it now instead of waiting on my lazy self to finish 'Blood Lust'.  
  
*ahem* And I would also like to point out that I'm going to be using a -lot- of psychological terms and definitions, so if you get lost, just tell me and I'll explain to the best of my abilities. *sweatdrop* And another thing, despite what others say, schizophrenia is NOT, I repeat, is NOT a disorder that deals with multiple personalities (that's Dissociative Identity Disorder). Schizophrenia is actually much worse, being the most severe mental disorder a person can get, and even then there's -three- different subtypes of schizophrenia- Catatonic, Paranoid, and Undifferentiated.  
  
But like I said, anyone who's confused just tell me and I'll explain. Or you can go find a psychology book and look up mental disorders. Either way works just fine.  
  
And one last thing. Since Duo is currently unable to be the keeper of conversation, I've given Wufei the task of being the cynical one and talking and asking questions. With help from Quatre of course. But it's mostly Wufei.  
  
I think that should be it...anywho, on with the REVIEWS!  
  
Firedraygon97: LMAO!! Yeah, well, I couldn't just leave the poor guy hanging without someone...it just so happened that that someone is...*twitches* Relena. *Jaws music starts playing*  
  
Avenged Suffering: Marshmallows? I dunno, both marshmellows and marshmallows sound good to me. ^_^ And Duos' thoughts are supposed to be very random but focused. It's something that comes along with being schizophrenic, the flight of thoughts. Where instead of thinking on one thing, the person had a ten track mind, were anything will set them off, yet they're all connected by something similar. It's kinda hard to explain, but the theory is called 'Tossed Salad'. All jumbled together and not making yet, sense it -does- make sense. As for what Wufei thinks, we'll have that in this chapter, and Duo's POV returns for chapter 3. ^_^ And 'Blood Lust' -WILL- be finished...eventually...right now, I have a pinata to paper mache' once I post this. But anywho, hopefully this will keep you entertained until I finish the last 'Blood Lust' chapter. ^_^  
  
Nelia Black: The line between the //'s are lyrics from the song 'Imaginary' by Evanescence. Beautifully haunting song by a just as awesome band. ^_^ And as for what the others think, that's what this chapter is for!!  
  
Smiley-person: Puff the magic dragon...I wish I were chasing the dragon...Er, I mean, hanging out with Mary Jane. Er yeah...But anywho, I'm glad you're liking this! I haven't seen many fics like this either, it's what piqued me into writing it, because most of the time it's all about the pilots being suicidal and all (which I am very guilty of too), so I thought I'd try something new. ^_^  
  
LadyRune: Wow, you think so highly of me...I am not worthy of such high Duo praise! ^^;; It's gonna get much better, especially with more looks into Duo's mind. ^_^  
  
Shella: YAAY! My Shella-chan reviewed! ^_^ Of course you couldn't stay away from my story, just as I can't post a chapter without a wonderful-ness review from you! ^_^ So it's Shella- review-addicted, ne? Anywho, so you think this is going to be darker than the vampire-slayer-angst style? Maybe...I really don't know. I think the idea that I'm keeping it very detailed and factual is what makes it darker, because I don't have to waste time having to set up the alternate universe information around it, I can just delve right into the angstiness without preamble. *nod nod* Yep. And I know exactly how you feel about the suicidal-clinically-depressed fics, there's been like a flood of them recently, and very few are unique, so it gets irritating real quick. I see you caught on to my repeating of the 'nice padded room with restraints and sedatives' thing too! ^_^ I was hoping someone who catch on to that. As for the train of thought and all, I'm keeping the first person POV with Duo, just because it shows more depth into his slipping sanity. I might do one of the other guys in first person later on, but I'll probably just stick with third. And 'Omae wo kuruso'...well, seeing how I didn't have much room for any other Japanese, I couldn't balance it out. *shrug* I have the same problem too when people do that, that's why when I write scenes with Heero in it, I try to use as much Japanese as I can without going overboard. Of course, you would know that about me, eh? I think you've read enough of my writing to know me. o.O;; Whether that's a good thing or nor remains to be told, but...Duo's cynicism is going to be making many, many more cameos before I'm through. One of the great joys of first person POV, when you can get into their minds without having to filter anything out. ^_^ The School Girl Wufei fic is being done no matter what! I've already drawn pictures for it, so Wufei's screwed! *evil grin* If I can get them scanned, I'll send them to you. ^_^  
  
Just think...Wufei, in a school girl uniform, in the pouring rain ala t.A.T.u style, with his hair down...*drools* Wufei in drag= every fangirl's fantasy. Now Heero in drag...*falls over laughing* -That- would be priceless.  
  
Now on with the story!  
  
***  
  
Behind his dark mahogany desk, the psychiatrist leaned back in his large leather armchair and surveyed the four young men sitting before him tensely, his fingers steepled just below his bulbous nose. They appeared no older than seventeen, yet their posture and air of authority gave the impression that they were much, much older mentally. The fact that they were four of the five infamous Gundam pilots from the wars was also taken into estimation. "Good afternoon gentlemen, I am Doctor Woods. I own and operate this psychiatric facility, and have called you here in light of the arrival of my new charge, Mister Duo Maxwell."  
  
There was murmur of exchanged names, albeit cold or formally businesslike, and the smallest of the four sat forward with concern puckering his delicate features. "Sir, why has Duo been admitted here? The last we saw of him, he was in good health, both mentally and physically."  
  
"I can't be sure as of yet, the test results aren't in. But my suspicions point to aspects of paranoid schizophrenia," he paused, reading their reactions. There were none, except for the worry of Quatre; the other three remained coolly impassive. He returned his reading to the manila folder on the top of his polished desk. "In other words, he suffers from serious disillusionment and violent psychotic episodes."  
  
"Psychotic episodes?" Wufei asked warily. "What kind of 'episodes'?"  
  
Doctor Woods motioned to the tape player on his desk. "Shall I turn down the volume, or do you want to hear it in full intensity? My charge tends to be...quite loud."  
  
"We could have told you that." Heero said flatly as they shook their heads in dissent and he pressed the play button.  
  
The empty water glass beside the speaker shattered into a million pieces as a high-pitched scream blasted their eardrums. It shrieked unintelligibly without hesitating to breathe, going hoarser after a few minutes as tangible words began to form.  
  
'LEAVE ME ALONE- IT'S NOT MY FAULT-'  
  
Duo's rasping wail repeated 'It's not my fault' over and over until Quatre finally pleaded for the psychiatrist to turn it off, his cerulean eyes threatening to leak tears, his heart feeling like it was about to break at the agony. How could they have missed this? Were they so self-absorbed that they could not even see their own best friend's distress? Trowa reached over and gently touched the blonde's arm reassuringly. Heero seemed unfazed to Doctor Woods, though the ones beside him, knowing him well, could see the shocked pain his steely Prussian gaze, and Wufei, paler then a ghost, had his fingers dug deep into the upholstery of his chair.  
  
He cleared his throat uneasily as he brushed shards of glass into his metal wastebasket. "That, Mister Chang, would be the kind of psychotic episode I was referring to."  
  
"What...what is causing this?" Wufei sounded almost scared, his normally disdainful voice wavered noticeably.  
  
"I was hoping you could tell me, it's why I called you four here," the doctor put the trash can aside and turned his calculating attention to them. "You four knew him best during the wars. Whatever is causing the delusions has deep roots from his brutal background. If we had gotten farther into the recording, you would have heard him begging voices in his head to stop accusing him of all the horrible murders he's committed."  
  
That was definitely not the right thing to say to ex-Gundam pilots. Even stoic Heero and Trowa, to Doctor Woods' complete surprise, jumped up from their seats in anger at his inadvertent remark. "We may have killed many people, -sir-," Quatre put icy emphasis on 'sir', losing all politeness. "However, it was not for amusement or pleasure, no matter what you may think. We did what we had to for peace."  
  
"Those who perished by our hands died in honor, not shame," Wufei added just as coldly, his onyx eyes blazing. "Even Treize Khushrenada."  
  
"Gentlemen, please, I did not mean any offense," he replied calmly. With dark glares, they reluctantly returned to their seats. Their suffering companion was more important then the truth at the moment. Though the psychiatrist had a sneaking suspicion that the hand Heero had hovering behind his back was clasping a weapon of some sort. "I am only restating what Mister Maxwell himself had been asserting in his delirium. May I continue without further interruption?"  
  
Heero's hand, gun-free, came from behind his back to rest rigidly on the armrest and he nodded stiffly. "Go on."  
  
"As I had been saying, if we had continued listening, you would have heard him mention 'voices in my head' that were apparently claiming that everyone who died because of him before and during the wars were solely his responsibility," Doctor Woods went on mildly. "So I asked you here for information. There are no accounts anywhere on Duo Maxwell's life before the wars, and I believe that is where this trauma initially started."  
  
"As far as I know, he was an orphan who lived on the streets on L2," Quatre replied, his tone notably warmer. "Other than that, only Duo can answer your questions." He spoke nothing of G.  
  
As far as their records show, the scientists were dead, and the scientists probably knew things about the Gundam pilots that even -they- didn't know about themselves.  
  
Sensing that they were withholding important facts, he opened his mouth to respond, but Wufei interrupted. "Are we allowed to see him?"  
  
"It is against regulations to permit people to visit patients under intensive care, as we have no idea how the outside stimulus could affect their conditions. With Mister Maxwell's disturbances originating from war-time conflicts, you could be a negative stimulant."  
  
"We are more than soldiers-in-arms!" The Chinese teen snapped peevishly, now getting curious looks from the others much to his embarrassment.  
  
"Indeed," said Doctor Woods, the corners of his mouth twitching amusedly as he checked his watch. "Well, I have to make my rounds. Thank you very much for your time and...cooperation. I will be sure to keep you all updated on Duo Maxwell's status, so if you would be so kind as to leave any additional contact information with my secretary-"  
  
"That's it? 'Hello, one of your only friends is locked up in a mental institution and suffering from a critical disorder, if you can't answer any questions then be on your way'?"  
  
The psychiatrist stopped at the door and gazed at Wufei. "You sound like you need to undergo some anger management sessions. Sarcasm is one of many masks that anger uses to disguise itself, you know." He left without another word.  
  
"I don't like him."  
  
"You don't like anyone who provokes you Wufei," Trowa spoke up quietly for the first time since they had entered the office.  
  
"What can we do?" Quatre asked hopelessly, looking extremely upset now that the four were alone.  
  
"Obviously nothing. We're just supposed to kick back, relax, and act like -nothing- is wrong," Wufei growled a fair many obscenities in every language he knew under his breath, furtively eyeing the open manila folder on Doctor Woods' desk that he had forgotten to put away in his patient file cabinet.  
  
"Being rude won't help the situation at all. It will merely make it worse."  
  
He snorted derisively. "It's the only way to get things done! In fact, I think I'm going to go hunt down that crackpot 'shrink' and have a 'discussion' to let him know -exactly- how I feel. You do as you wish, but I will not allow this insult to Maxwell and ourselves have free reign."  
  
Before he could get a response, Wufei shamelessly plucked up the invitingly open folder to get Duo's room number and stormed out in with another irritated snort.  
  
"I hope he knows what he's doing," Quatre commented anxiously.  
  
"I believe we should worry more about the doctor's welfare," Trowa replied. "I don't want to be responsible if the staff here discovers him pricked full of katana holes tomorrow morning."  
  
"I can't stay to find out, Relena has a colony conference tomorrow and I have to get back," Heero cut in evenly.  
  
"We'll stay, if they don't come back within the next hour or so, Trowa and I will handle it."  
  
For a second, the Asian appeared almost sorry about leaving them with such a burden as he nodded and exited the room silently.  
  
"What now?"  
  
"Sit and wait, just like I said we would," Quatre answered simply, picking up the manila folder Wufei had tossed carelessly in his empty seat and began to skim through the psychiatrist's detailed analysis.  
  
***  
  
Doctor Woods was not the least bit surprised when he came upon the Chinese Preventer agent arguing heatedly with the two keepers outside his comrade's room, on the verge of threatening death by his sword. From the study he had gathered over his interesting conversation with the four ex-soldiers, he had had the distinct notion that even if he had secured Duo Maxwell's file in his drawer, one of them would have picked the lock the minute he left to retrieve it. So he purposely kept the folder out on his desk. Either way they were going to read it, especially since it concerned someone so close to them.  
  
"Mister Chang, I do believe I can have you thrown out of my institution if I'm under the impression that you pose a serious threat to the security of my charges," he greeted humorously, smiling.  
  
"And I can turn this into an official government case if -I'm- under the impression that an esteemed war veteran has been misdiagnosed and is being harmed," Wufei retorted.  
  
"Ah, but that would also mean a lot more paperwork waiting for you on your desk when you return to Preventers headquarters. And as you are fully aware, there has been no misdiagnosis."  
  
His defensive stance faltered at the psychiatrist's fixed, unperturbed smile. Apparently this man was not one to give in easily, though in his line of work, he wasn't allowed to. "I apologize," Wufei conceded finally, sighing.  
  
"It's quite all right," Doctor Woods smiled again, turning his gaze to the obviously relieved keepers and resuming his professional demeanor. "Status?"  
  
"We had to administer sedatives an hour ago."  
  
He nodded slightly. "Leave us for a few minutes, will you?" The two walked off without argument, leaving him with the Asian. "You asked me earlier if you could see Mister Maxwell, and you also remember my answer about regulations, right?"  
  
"Yes..." Wufei trailed off suspiciously.  
  
"Then forget it."  
  
"So now it's fine to visit as long as your patients are drugged?" he inquired cynically.  
  
"Do you want to see him or do you not?" Doctor Woods replied, his annoyingly imperious tone not changing at all. He smirked at the teen's growled affirmative, opening the door and leading the way in. "I warn you though, it's not going to be a pleasant sight."  
  
Wufei followed tentatively, suddenly not very sure if he was doing the right thing, not knowing what kind of 'sight' he was about to walk in on. The last time he had been with Duo had been almost six months ago at the termination of the real Operation Meteor, before he had become engulfed in work with the Preventers. He had seemed perfectly fine.  
  
Although he had to admit, he really hadn't been paying much attention, or he would have noticed something was wrong.  
  
Utterly unprepared, Wufei entered the room fully, initially taking in the safely cushioned walls and the soft feel of the floor beneath his feet as he stood uncomfortably behind the psychiatrist until he realized he was being spoken to.  
  
"Since he was brought in, he has barely eaten, nor slept unless forced to under sedation, thereby gradually decreasing the relapses in his episodes." Doctor Woods said systematically, as if he were reading right off his analysis charts. "The overall exhaustion has held them a bay more so than any of the drugs."  
  
Wufei remained silent. He could tell him exactly why the drugs weren't, or barely, worked on the former soldier. All the training they had undergone before the wars were specialized just for the Gundam pilots, to make them as close to invincible as possible, part of the training being building up a tolerance to many types of drugs so they could not be used in torture. Painkillers, tranquilizers, amphetamines, most poisons, hallucinogens and the like had little to no effect unless in lethally high amounts.  
  
The doctor stepped aside and all thoughts of training experience vanished from Wufei's mind as his troubled gaze fell onto Duo.  
  
If he had been thin during the wars, that was nothing compared to the nearly skeletal form secured down to the bed in wrist and ankle restraints, laying so motionless it didn't look like he was breathing. The once bright, grinning face was haunted and empty, paler than the white bed sheets with ragged, unkempt chestnut bangs shrouding eyes darkened with black circles of fatigue. Judging from the equally ragged and unkempt strands of hair laying limply over his bony shoulders, his customary braid hadn't been present in quite some time. That in itself was serious, if there had been one thing that drove everyone insane, it was how long Duo had to take in the bathroom, treating his hair like it was the most precious thing in the world.  
  
He had truly become like Death.  
  
But the person lying on the bed before Wufei could not be Duo Maxwell. He refused to believe it. No, he only refused to believe it because he was too ashamed to confess that it had to be partially his fault that he was here in this horrible place. If he had just paid more attention...  
  
It hurt Doctor Woods to watch the various shades of pained emotion fall into place on the teen's visage, the hardest part of his job was dealing his patients' families, always asking questions, always so afraid. Duo had been an entirely new case for him; he had never dealt with battle-scarred soldiers before, and thus had never encountered the reactions of friends from war. Actually seeing the affliction for themselves gave the eventual accepting fear from the families he knew how to handle, but this shell-shocked, self-blaming fear was new territory for him.  
  
"Mister Chang..." he broke the strained silence gently. "Shall we return to my office?"  
  
Wufei came out of his reverie and nodded briefly, cautiously backing away from the bed, surveying the bound, unmoving figure as if he would suddenly wake up and glare at him accusingly for desperately wanting to leave.  
  
***  
  
Oh yes, I remember what I forgot now...I don't own the name Woods, it belongs to -my- psychiatrist. I'm just borrowing it for lack of name creativity. I was considering Doctor Quack, but couldn't bring myself to do it...^_^  
  
OoooOOooo the drama! I don't think I'll ever kick this angst writing...Next chapter: DUO! We get to see into his lovely mind again! 


	3. Chapter 3

Back to the Duo! Man, I enjoy writing the insane POV almost too much.  
  
Duo: Way too much.  
  
Oh shush you. But yes, now that I have 'Blood Lust' completed and the ridiculous Spanish project out of the way, the chapters for Imaginary will being coming along steadily now, so there won't be as much of a wait as there has been. ^_^  
  
Reviews!  
  
Shella: Lol, I wouldn't have let myself call him Doctor Quack anyways. ^^;;; I take you don't like needles, eh? I'm a weird one, I have to watch when I get stuck with needles. I creep out doctors sometimes cause they tell me to look away, but I sit there and watch them do everything. ^_^ As for Duo getting out of there...I'm going to have fun with his lab results. It won't come until the next chapter when I go back to third person, but I'll be having fun with the treatment duo is going to need to get better. But I'm not going to say anything cause it would give away the story. ^_^ And if you think the pilots' reactions to the tape were good, wait until Doctor Woods lets Wufei join a little 'session' between him and Duo. -That-, my Shella-chan, will have you in chills for a while. I've already started on it, and poor Wu-bear is going to need psychological help afterwards. *sweatdrop*  
  
Nelia Black: As for the guys, you have to consider the sheer amount of work that goes into keeping the peace so soon after the war. Relena would be traveling a lot, so Heero would have to be with her practically 24/7, thus giving him no time to find Duo. The Preventers had just been formed at the start of the Mariemaia incident, so it was still under major reform AND had to get rid of the remnants of the Mariemaia army before they could have a break, so Wufei, being a Gundam pilot and once part of Mariemaia's army, would have been even busier than Heero. And the Winner Enterprises is massive, I wouldn't be surprised if it made Bill Gates look like a pauper with his puny Microsoft compared to what Quatre has to manage and he would need Trowa's help. Reform and peace take time to establish, and as I pointed out in the first chapter among Duo's musings, he moved a lot and covered his tracks, so even if the guys had wanted to find him in whatever free time they had, they would have had to search. I hope that clears up your disappointment, trust me, I would never write the G-boys as heartless bastards, especially not against each other. (Well, with the exception of 'Blood Lust', but Heero was a vampire in that story. *sweatdrop*) I would never use Doctor Quack either, unless as some taunting nickname. And as for Wufei crying...there is still later. ^_^  
  
Smiley-person: Hm, well I've never seen a fic on Duo having schizophrenia on ff.net, so unless it's on another site (which I'm sure it probably is, I'm not -that- brilliant author, by no means), so it's original sounding to me. At least compared to all the suicide stories they have floating around that all sound the same.  
  
Firedraygon97: Yesh, poor Duo. ^^;;; Don't worry, he won't be suffering too bad.  
  
Emily Hato: Well I'm glad your enjoying my oddball story. Never written a psychological fic before, so it's going to be even more fun writing than actually reading it. ^^;;;  
  
I think that's about it...So on with the story!!  
  
***  
  
If I hadn't already been clinically declared insane, I would have called myself insane the instant I had begun to regain consciousness.  
  
I could have sworn one of the guys was in here with me just a little while ago.  
  
Maybe it is this crazy insanity finally getting to me, breaking through the gundanium defenses and invading the rational logic, poisoning it so that it was just as mad as the rest of my tortured mind.  
  
Or maybe it's the drugs.  
  
Who knows?  
  
As for me, I seriously hope it's just the drugs.  
  
I know -someone- had come in, but those damn sedatives kept me from seeing who the hell it was. At the sake of sounding utterly deranged, I could just -feel- that it was a person I knew very well, and I mean really feel. As if I didn't need to see with my eyes, I just -knew-. And it had to be one of the guys; we're all so much alike that there was no possible way it could have been anyone else who seemed so much like me. Now which one would be a bit tougher to say, but at least they finally realized something was wrong.  
  
Or my stupid psycho doctor called them. Oh that's even better. I can just imagine the conversations he must have had with them.  
  
'Good afternoon, I have your friend Duo Maxwell here, locked up in a padded room and tied to a bed. I shoot him up with drugs every couple of hours to keep him from screaming his lungs out, but other than those minor inconveniences, everything is perfectly fine.'  
  
Haha, right.  
  
Quatre would have a cow if he got a call like that. Oh yeah, he would flip, worried beyond reckoning, ask a million questions and drive the -psychiatrist- insane. Heero would say "Hn" and hang up. Wufei would give him his 'injustice' rant for interrupting him at work and be pissed off at the world like he always is. Trowa would say nothing. Go figure.  
  
Then they would band together for one last mission and hijack me from this prison and all will be right with the world again!  
  
Who am I kidding, eh? Myself.  
  
Sure, I know that.  
  
But a guy can dream, can't he?  
  
Because that sure as hell is what I'm doing, stuck in a 24/7 nightmare that doesn't seem to want to leave me alone yet. Obviously I had been dreaming, who want to see poor, pathetic Duo strapped down in restraints in this hellhole?  
  
Maybe I had just wanted the person to one of the guys so badly that I imagined it in my madness.  
  
Yeah, that sounds a lot more reasonable.  
  
Definitely a lot a more reasonable, unless the person was some twisted son of a bitch who enjoyed listening to screaming. Speaking of screaming...  
  
The voices are back. Hear them coming?  
  
They know the tranquilizers are wearing off again; they're scrambling to pick apart my brain with their accusations before any lucid dialogue can come out of my mouth. Luckily for poor, pathetic Duo, he's screamed his vocal chords to death for the moment. (Oh God, I'm starting to think in third person...)  
  
Death.  
  
Would you look at that? I've gone and killed a part of -myself- now, haven't I? Even though it's just my vocal chords...  
  
'And it's all your fault.'  
  
Ah, the bittersweet irony.  
  
'You killed us.'  
  
You know what, screw the guys. I can hijack myself out of here. I'm a Gundam pilot, okay, I -used- to be a Gundam pilot, I can't be forced to let myself be strapped down in restraints in this place.  
  
I've been in worse situations, certainly I can get out of this one.  
  
The bindings are too tight to break a wrist and wriggle a hand out...  
  
I could use my teeth to pull at them, but I would have to dislocate my shoulder to be able to reach it...  
  
Damn.  
  
I could always chew off my arm, but that's too much work. And I'm not Hannibal Lector.  
  
Why do the psychiatrists have to know crazy people so well? They've got it set up so there's no possible way to get free without seriously injuring yourself.  
  
And to think they blame it on the patients for being self- destructive.  
  
Good ole Duo, his sarcasm is his savior.  
  
There I go with the third person thing again.  
  
I give up...I'm too tired anyway. I would probably collapse before I even got to the stupid door. Besides, even if I did get out, there is hundreds of stupid steroid spawn standing outside all the doors to keep guard and I sure as hell wouldn't be able to fight them.  
  
Stupid drugs, stupid restraints, stupid mental asylums, stupid psychiatrists, stupid steroid spawn, stupid doors, stupid voices, stupid wars, stupid me...ARGH!  
  
Somebody's cheerful today, eh?  
  
'You killed us.'  
  
'It's all your fault.'  
  
Stupid voices.  
  
'You killed our parents.'  
  
'You made more orphans like you, not the enemy.'  
  
Why can't they leave me alone?  
  
'You killed our children.'  
  
'A parent should never have to bury their own children.'  
  
Why won't they go away? All I want is a peace, just for a little while.  
  
'It's all your fault.'  
  
'Everything's your fault.'  
  
Nothing's my fault.  
  
It's not my fault.  
  
"Everything's your fault.'  
  
No!  
  
I didn't do it on purpose.  
  
Where are those stupid steroid spawn when you actually need them? Of course they won't come when you really want them to stick you full of needles, to make the insanity stop at least for a little while. Oh no, they only come when you -don't- want them, and at the most annoying times too.  
  
Let's try that theory.  
  
I don't want any sedatives today; I want to roam happily around in my tortured thoughts and try to scream bloody murder with my aching throat until I lose consciousness.  
  
Hey- it worked!  
  
Look at that, the door's opening up and here they come!  
  
Wait...  
  
It's the psychiatrist. Uh oh...not a good sign...Hold on, who's with him?  
  
Wufei?  
  
***  
  
Fun, ne?  
  
Next chapter: Back to the third person POV. And Doctor Woods asks Wufei to sit in a 'session' between him and Duo. Poor, poor Wufei...  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Whichever suits... 


	4. Chapter 4

First off, I would like to apologize for the lateness of this  
chapter. It's been really busy the past few days, cause my dad  
just got home from Iraq Tuesday, so I haven't had much time on  
the computer, let alone time to write, because of all the  
relatives that invaded our house to see my dad. *sigh* But  
they're all gone now (thankfully), so now I have some peace and  
quiet to write.  
  
Secondly, this chapter was -very- hard to write when I as able  
to sit and write. O.o;;; I knew what I wanted to have, it was  
just getting there that was the trouble, ya know what I mean? So  
hopefully, it's good. If not, oh well. And yes this is the third  
person POV. Duo's results come in, and Doctor Woods lets Wufei  
join his reevaluation. ^_^ The hardest part to write,  
surprisingly, wasn't the psychological technical stuff, but the  
scene with Wufei and Duo.  
  
Poor, poor Wufei.  
  
*ahem* Now, for reviews. ^___^  
  
Nelia Black: Don't you just love Hannibal Lector? ^_^ And yesh,  
Wufei joins a lovely session and is recognized. I swear, Wufei  
and Duo's scene was -hard- to write, so hopefully it came out  
all right. *sweatdrop* But yes, it's a -very- good sign. ^_^  
  
Avenged Suffering: Fei-Fairy!!! Kawaii!! ^___^ *ahem* Anywho,  
yes, Insane Duo is always fun no matter how much angst there is.  
I was expecting more people to point out that fact about him  
being a Gundam pilot, so that would have made him able to  
escape, but unfortunately, psychiatrists know what they're doing  
with their patients. *nod nod* Glad you liked it! ^_^ As for X-  
men 2, I have yet to see it, but it's on my list of things to do  
this weekend, along with seeing The Matrix Reloaded, because I'm  
-dying- to see them. And for Kirby Morrow, I have no clue who he  
is, so...  
  
Nightmaker's Raven: Aww...Don't be too sad now, because it'll  
only get worse before it gets better, so you gotta be prepared  
so you can read. ^_^ Glad you're liking it though!  
  
Smiley-person: Don't you just love Duo's sarcasm? Only Duo can  
get any with humor like that, and my slightly mentally unstable  
Duo is all the more fun because in first person POV, you don't  
have to hold back. ^_____^ Sadly, this chapter is third person.  
*sigh*  
  
Kinishi: I'm glad you're enjoying this!! ^___^ And I agree, not  
many people had the heart to write stories that could possibly  
permanently damage their favorite G-boy. Unfortunately for the G-  
boys, I don't have that problem. *evil grin* So far I've made  
Heero alcoholic, Wufei a tortured vampire, and now Duo's  
mentally unstable. I don't think Quatre and Trowa even want to  
know what I have in store for them. ^_^ And yes, Duo being  
locked up in a padded room is the last thing he needs, but  
luckily for him, the doctor's kind enough in this chapter to  
remove his restraints. And Wufei -nearly- kills the  
psychiatrist in this chapter, if not the doctor considering  
killing Wufei first. One of my favorite parts. *snicker* You'll  
know what I'm talking about soon enough though...^___^  
  
Firedraygon97: Glad you're enjoying my little fic! ^__^  
  
I think that's about everyone...On with the chapter!!  
  
***  
  
Quatre and Trowa were still in Doctor Woods' office when they  
returned. The manila folder laid on his desk, looking for all  
the world perfectly untouched, though he knew better. The only  
difference in the room since his departure was the absence of  
Heero and a new folder set in the receiving tray on the upper  
right corner of his desk.  
  
At the sound of the door opening, Quatre jumped up anxiously  
from his chair, his distressed fears being confirmed at the  
horrendously pale complexion Wufei's stunned expression held.  
Even Trowa appeared mildly concerned at the Asian's  
uncharacteristic reaction.  
  
"Are you okay Wufei?" Quatre asked tentatively.  
  
He shook his head slowly as he sat, his face disappearing  
behinds his hands while he regained composure.  
  
Doctor Woods had picked up the new folder and was perusing it  
intently. "We're right on time. These are the results for the  
lab tests I had done on Mister Maxwell."  
  
Wufei's head came up, looking considerably more like his normal  
self. "Well?"  
  
The psychiatrist didn't answer immediately; his gaze set on the  
numbers and charts on the lab papers. "Was Mister Maxwell a  
restless, fidgety person?" He seemed highly displeased.  
  
"Oh Allah yes," Quatre sighed. "He drove us crazy during  
missions, when we had take cover in safe houses, not being able  
to sit still. I think you and Heero hog-tied him to a chair him  
once during a particularly long mission, did you not Trowa?" The  
unibanged boy nodded silently.  
  
"How about conversations? Was there rapid speech? Moments of  
incoherence?"  
  
"Incoherent?" Wufei repeated blankly. "Unfortunately, no. He did  
talk a lot, though we tuned him out half the time." Guilt  
immediately followed his last statement. They -had- tuned Duo  
out most of the time, hoping that his 'babble' would cease if he  
noticed no one was listening to him after 'shut up' didn't work.  
  
"Grandiose ideas?" Doctor Woods inquired. "Did he thought of  
himself as something he was not, in other words."  
  
The three glanced at each other. "Shinigami," Quatre said  
finally. "He called himself the 'God of Death'. Though he had  
nicknames for everybody," he added hastily, but that didn't seem  
to alleviate the frown deepening on the doctor's face.  
  
"What about trust issues? Did he have paranoia or anxiety  
attacks?"  
  
"People tend to be distrustful when they grow up on the  
streets," Wufei remarked coolly. "Besides, the first thing we  
were taught as Gundam pilots was to trust only in yourself and  
to question that even. So will you get to your point already?"  
  
Again, they did not get an instant reply.  
  
"In schizophrenia, there is a build up of a chemical called  
dopamine in the brain," Doctor Woods said after a while.  
"However, despite what I had originally believed, the results  
show manic depression, but it has gone untreated for so long  
that it seems worse, with the bouts of mania overwhelming the  
depression because of the abnormal amounts of serotonin that  
have built up in his system. Cases such as this are very rare,  
and they are ordinarily only found among people twice his age,  
if not older." [1]  
  
"But he can get better, right?" Trowa asked carefully, catching  
them all off guard. He had not spoken a word in front of the  
psychiatrist until then.  
  
"I honestly cannot say," he shrugged slightly. "With this new  
information, I am going to have to entirely reevaluate Mister  
Maxwell and work out some sort of therapy. I have never dealt  
with a patient suffering from a manic depression developed to  
such a great extent before, it's going to be all new territory."  
  
Wufei appeared reproachful, a dark scowl beginning to form on  
his recomposed features. "I refuse to allow you screw with Duo's  
mind like some science experiment," he interrupted hotly, the  
surprise now shifting to him. He was serious, point proven by  
the fact that he called Duo by his first name instead of the  
usual 'Maxwell' or 'braided idiot'.  
  
But neither Trowa or Quatre tried to calm him, they had not seen  
their friend, and thus did not know how truly bad it was other  
than what they were told from an critique report or lab results.  
Though the Asian had, and judging by the way that he had entered  
the office, the two were more than willing to let Wufei handle  
the predicament for the moment.  
  
Doctor Woods' only change in expression was the knitting of his  
brow, but his unflagging patience was wearing thin. "I think you  
misunderstand Mister Chang, the benefit of my patient far  
exceeds any medical journal examination. Even in a rare case  
like this, his welfare is much more important rather than me  
making him 'some science experiment' for my own personal  
psychoanalytic gain."  
  
Wufei muttered something that distinctly sounded like 'Psycho is  
right' under his breath, folding his arms across his chest in a  
defiant gesture. "Fine, do your reevaluation, but if the  
smallest thing goes wrong, I'm going to get Sally Po to come  
here and take charge over the situation because I know we can  
trust her."  
  
The doctor sighed heavily, massaging his temples. "I should  
think I would know what I am doing after twenty years of  
impeccable medical practice, though if you insist, join the  
reevaluation session and observe for yourself," he said testily.  
Yes, his patience was -definitely- wearing thin, and he made a  
mental note to congratulate the Preventer agent on being one of  
the very few who have ever managed to really irk him.  
  
Quatre seemed to sense the irritation building as he quickly  
made way to cool the tempers down. "Now Wufei, doesn't calling  
Sally sound a bit ridiculous? It would only cause more trouble  
than good to drag her down here from the Headquarters," he said  
soothingly. "The both of you would have to go to Une about this  
matter, and Sally isn't even qualified in psychological medical  
cases, the best she could do was recommend someone else."  
  
Wufei uncrossed his arms exasperatingly in defeat, pinching the  
bridge of his nose to stave off an impending headache. Why did  
the blonde Arabian always have to be so damn right? "I know," he  
replied tiredly. "It's just...how could we let something like  
this happen Quatre? What kind of friend doesn't notice something  
like this? We are supposed to be friends with Duo, and look at  
what we let happen because we were so absorbed in our own lives  
that we couldn't even find five minutes to try to call and ask  
how he was doing..."  
  
"Wufei-" Quatre began gently, but the Asian shook his head  
abruptly, refusing to listen to any comforting excuse he could  
say.  
  
"When can this reevaluation be done?" Wufei asked pointedly, not  
to provoke the psychiatrist though, only to make it clear that  
the subject of his guilt was dropped for the moment.  
  
"Any time," Doctor Woods answered simply. "It's nothing to  
complicated, I just ask questions and make my judgments based on  
his answers and reactions. Given the rather alarming lab  
results, I would like to do it as soon as the sedatives wear  
off."  
  
"How long will that take?"  
  
"Well, as I said, Mister Maxwell is a unique patient. Normally,  
the sedatives last for about eight to ten hours, depending on  
the person, but he only stays under for about three hours," he  
checked his wristwatch. "I expect he'll wake up within the next  
twenty minutes or so." He looked at Quatre and Trowa. "Will you  
be coming for the ride too?"  
  
"Oh no, we wouldn't want to get in way," Quatre declined  
politely. "We can wait."  
  
Wufei pulled off his Preventers jacket so that he appeared more  
casual in his khaki slacks and black shirt, also removing his  
katana from his belt to set down in his vacant chair for extra  
precaution. Without the intimidating attire, he could have  
almost passed as a regular teenager if not for the serious  
circumstances.  
  
Once again following the doctor, Wufei stole one more uneasy  
glance back at Quatre and Trowa before shutting the office door  
behind him. The guilt consuming his conscience made him wonder  
if he even had the right to try and help Duo after practically  
ignoring him for all this time as they walked through the  
various bland corridors.  
  
How would his presence affect him?  
  
Doctor Woods surveyed Wufei's troubled face with sympathy as  
they came to Duo's room. "For now, you will need to stay out  
here. I will call you in if I deem it will be safe for you to do  
so, and then you can speak with him." The Chinese teen nodded  
without argument and he entered, leaving the door open as he  
went. The ex-soldier was indeed waking up as he came in and  
carefully unclasped the restraints on his delicate wrists and  
ankles, feeling his patient tense up immediately in distrust  
under his hands.  
  
Wufei's discomfiture got the best of him and he peered into the  
room cautiously, watching Doctor Woods' deft movements before he  
settled himself in a chair beside the bed with the lab folder in  
his lap. He did not like the empty expression that was fixed on  
Duo's thin face when he sat up laboriously; he understood that  
expression all too well. It was the look they adopted when they  
knew they were about to kill innocents during war, they escaped  
to a silent place in their minds, trying not to consider the  
families and friends the people they were about to murder had or  
could have. It was the look they used if they were ever caught  
by the enemy and held captive, slipping into the cold silence so  
none could figure out what they were thinking or feeling,  
suspicious of everything and everyone. There was no life in the  
hollow violet eyes, only the cold and suspicion, no sparkle or  
shine of laughter.  
  
Odd as it seemed coming from him, all Wufei wanted was for the  
psychiatrist hurry and finish his reevaluation so he could go in  
there to bring the brightness back, a smile at least, to make  
the trained emotionless mask go away. What kind of friend let  
something like this happen?  
  
On his end of the spectrum, Doctor Woods was getting no response  
to his questions or remarks, anything to give him the smallest  
hint that his charge was even paying attention. There was still  
one last objective to try and he was bound to get -some- sort of  
reaction out of the teen from it.  
  
He just hoped he was making the right decision.  
  
"You can come in the room now."  
  
The instant the Asian walked in, much to both of theirs shock,  
there was no way to describe the sudden explosion of ecstatic  
relief that shattered the mask Duo wore. He looked like a little  
child who had just been let loose in a candy store heaven as he  
inhaled sharply. "Wufei!"  
  
"Shh, sit still Duo, stay calm," Wufei said gently, gingerly  
sitting beside him on the bed and setting a hand on his bony  
shoulder with a tiny wince.  
  
As suddenly as the excitement had appeared, it was replaced by  
anxiousness. "It wasn't my fault," Duo whispered hoarsely, his  
panicky hold latching onto his comforting warmth as he grasped  
his outstretched arm. "Do you see them? Do they accuse you too?  
They're coming after us, aren't they? They're gonna make us  
suffer for all the damage we caused-" His words tumbled quickly,  
blurring his sentences.  
  
"Shh, shh...Calm down Duo," Wufei repeated soothingly, though  
his concern showed clearly in his onyx eyes. "Nobody is here to  
make us suffer, there is nobody coming after us. Only I'm here,  
and Quatre and Trowa, we're going to help you." He carefully  
pried Duo's gripping hands and set them down in his lap, not  
breaking their steady gazes so the motion went unnoticed.  
"Nobody is going to come after you, I promise and you know I  
never go back on my word."  
  
"Really?" Oh gods, how desperate he sounded.  
  
"Of course! I don't let you call me 'Justice Boy' for nothing,"  
he smiled slightly.  
  
Doctor Woods observed the two boys' interaction with near  
amazement, in the few minutes he had allowed the Preventer to  
have with his patient, he had easily jumped over all the hurdles  
he could not and was slowly bringing Duo Maxwell back to  
reality. He had spoken more to Wufei in those few minutes than  
he had to him in all the time he had spent with the  
psychiatrist, twice as much even, if not almost triple. His  
amazement grew as the long-haired teen slowly grinned at the  
self-depreciating joke and chuckled.  
  
Wufei may have appeared consoling on the outside, but inside, he  
was going crazy himself. Surely he was going to break under the  
strain. Never had he had someone put so much trust in him so  
blindly, yet the second he had gotten Duo to believe that he was  
there for him, he attached himself wholeheartedly to that  
security as if he were his lifeline. Which he probably was, now  
that he considered it. There had been no screaming; he had made  
him laugh and smile like normal after some tactful reassuring.  
Then came the -hard- part-  
  
Trying to leave.  
  
"Duo..." Wufei began tentatively. "We've got to go talk to  
Quatre and Trowa for a minute, will you be fine with that?"  
  
"You'll come back, right?" His grin faltered, the panicky look  
starting to return. "You're not gonna leave me here-"  
  
"No! No, I would not leave you here," he amended hastily. "I'll  
come back as soon as we're through." His answer seemed to  
satisfy Duo, the anxiety left his face and he was calm again.  
  
Doctor Woods got up and returned his chair to its place beside  
the door as Wufei rose, not releasing the hand on Duo's shoulder  
until he had to leave.  
  
***  
  
Poor, poor Wufei...  
  
[1]I would like to point out that the 'depression' in manic  
depression does -NOT- make the person suicidal or the like, it's  
a type of paranoia. When in a depressive state, they suspect  
everyone and everything, and usually sabotage relationships by  
driving them away, the anxiety build up turning the depression  
into mania. Its slang term is called the 'darkness', because the  
person really isn't registering what they're doing until after  
the episode, and are brought out of it by either their own will  
power or by someone VERY close to them, like a lover or close  
friend that you share an immense past with (such as the G-boys  
are to Duo), that's able to talk them out of it.  
  
Don't like what I'm doing? Tough. Flame me and get on with your  
life.  
  
But if you're enjoying yourself...^____^ Review! 


	5. Chapter 5

*holds up sign that says 'MAJOR DUO TORTURE AHEAD'*  
  
*ahem* Just thought I'd warn the readers before they dive into  
this new chapter. ^^;; We get to see how Duo feels about the  
little 'reevaluation' and it's not exactly...cheerful. For added  
dramatic effect, I threw in lyrics from Saliva's 'Separated  
Self' off their new album 'Back Into Your System', because I was  
listening to it while writing and I think it fits in perfectly  
with Duo's train of thought in this chapter. *nod nod* I'm a  
sucker for songs in my fics, what can I say? I can't go for one  
story with having less than three songs incorporated into  
it...*sweatdrop*  
  
Mmmkay, I think I have some reviews that need replying to now...  
  
Dark Ice: If you're creeped out by it, then by no means should  
you read, I know I wouldn't if it creeps me out. I try to keep  
the confusion down by explaining the psychological stuff through  
Doctor Woods as he explains to Wufei and the guys, but if it's  
not enough, then I can explain fuller if you want me to. I'm  
taking Psychology, so I had to study these disorders extensively  
for class, so as I write I might put it in the terms I know it  
by out of habit, but I'm trying to make sure I don't lose  
anyone. ^^;;; But I promise, it's only going to get better, now  
that they know what Duo has and they're going to begin helping  
him get progressively better, but it's your choice on whether  
you read on or not. *shrug*  
  
Dyna: Heh, yeah it would be hard to say you're enjoying all the  
angst and Duo-torture, now wouldn't it? ^^;;; but I'm glad  
you're interested in my little story, and I got this next  
chapter out as fast as I could!  
  
Ayla: Wow! Another Wufei lover! You don't see many of us around,  
plenty of 2x5 supporters though. *nod nod* Duo and Wufei are my  
absolute favorite characters and pairing too! ^_^ I'm greatly  
flattered by your opinions on my writing and just for that, I  
got this chapter out faster!  
  
Nelia: Yes, you're not going to be the only one that's glad  
Wufei went in to see Duo. ^_^ Wait until you see what -Duo-  
really thinks...And yes, his friends are going to play a major  
part in his recovery, more specifically a certain aforementioned  
Chinese friend, but the process will be slow and more likely  
than not, very painful.  
  
Silversqueen: Gomen ne for making you wait! ^^;;; I got this out  
as fast as I could, I swear! I'm glad you think this story is  
good so far and will hopefully think so for what I have planned  
later...^_^  
  
Mew: Yes, yes, poor Duo, I know everyone is thinking that right  
now, but it's a bit redundant, isn't it? Clearly I know to think  
'Poor Duo' because he's the one with the mental disorder, but in  
chapter 4, Wufei was the one that deserved a sympathetic 'Poor  
Wufei'. Yes, Duo is suffering, but now his burden is on Wufei,  
Quatre, and Trowa's shoulders too.  
  
Kinishi: I don't think poor Wufei is going to want to fight the  
psychologist immediately after that particularly painful  
conversation with Duo, but yes, there's always later. *nod nod*  
And as for Duo's sap talk...just wait until Wufei comes back  
from discussing the situation with Quatre and Trowa...  
  
Jesanae Tekani: hey! It's a buddy from When Angst Ensues! ^__^  
I'm glad you think this is good so far. Trust me, if I had tried  
writing something like this a few months ago, it would have  
sucked, but I've been doing extensive studying on disorders and  
such in my Psychology class and fine-tuned on my angst writing  
skills on my vampire fic 'Blood Lust'. I'm actually kinda  
surprised how this turned out, I thought it was going to be  
horrible. ^^;;;  
  
Lady Rune: Yes, I'm a 2x5 fanatic all the way. *grins* I can't  
help myself. I'm glad you like this story though, and I totally  
agree with what you're saying. Some people try to write fics  
like this and it just seems farfetched, but I've done my  
research on this subject with my Psychology class, and my cousin  
is manic depressive and I have a few friends that are bipolar,  
so I had a lot to draw on for this. I thought it was going to be  
terrible, but thankfully no body else seems to thinks so. ^^;;;  
  
Avenged Suffering: Nope, you spelled psychiatrists right. ^_^  
And I know how you feel, I had to go to a psychologist for a few  
sessions because of some personal issues, and I do -not- get  
along very good with people I barely know trying to pick apart  
my personal life. I can be loud and outgoing, but I'm never  
truly open about how I'm really feeling unless it's with my  
closest friends whom I know I can trust, so I was not a happy  
person having to go see a psychologist. *sigh* And I looked at  
that Kirby Morrow site, he kinda looks like a younger version of  
Viggo Mortenson. ^_^ If he is worthy of being Trowa's voice  
actor, then he must be worthy to play Gambit. *sagely nod*  
  
Shella: Heh, well you're going to be finding all new ways to say  
'Ack' with this chapter...*ahem* But yes, I purposely used the  
fan's perspective on the G-Boys for Duo's POV, I plan on having  
him be surprised on how wrong he was about his fellow soldiers-  
in-arms once he gets better. ^_^ Bonus points for my Shella-chan  
for noticing that before I even said anything. How the other ex-  
pilots would affect Duo is a major thing, seeing how his  
'darkness' revolves around being persecuted for all the murders  
he committed during the wars and the G-Boys would be a reminder  
of those wars. But instead of making it a -bad- major thing,  
like having Duo got into a fit at seeing Wufei, I made it good,  
his connection of them to the wars is positive because they were  
Gundam pilots like him and suffered just as much, so deep down  
in his subconscious he knows he can wholeheartedly trust them.  
Like how he instantly attaches himself to Wufei. ^_^ It's so  
sweet, yet underneath it is very, very serious. *nod nod* Glad  
you thought it was good! I am humbly grateful for such a  
wonderful-ness review. ^^;;; (and for the record, I got teary-  
eyed just writing that scene, so don't worry, you're not the  
only one who felt like crying) I think I'm going to go start  
writing the School Girl Wufei fic to alleviate all the angst  
spinning in my battered brain...  
  
*ahem* Now that's out of the way...On with the story!!! ^___^  
  
***  
  
//If there's a God at Heaven's door//  
  
//Do you think He wants me anymore?//  
  
Yeah, the psycho-doctor actually coming to see me definitely  
meant something was wrong.  
  
Then he let me out of the stupid restraints, not saying that I  
wasn't grateful, because I really, really was, but that seemed  
even more wrong than him showing up in my room instead of one of  
those steroid spawn with needles. But even though he did that  
didn't mean I liked the quack of a shrink any more then I had  
beforehand, nor was I about to answer any of his pointless  
questions.  
  
Wouldn't -you- do the same if someone who had tied you up to a  
bed and locked you in a little padded room to suffer all alone,  
except for when they forced you to sleep with tranquilizers,  
suddenly wanted to be all cheery and know every little detail of  
your life?  
  
Of course you would.  
  
//It's all left up to circumstances//  
  
//A whole life filled with second chances//  
  
//Pounded like nails into my floor//  
  
At least I'm not as crazy as I thought I was, from whatever in  
his folder was saying. It's nothing but a little bout of manic  
depression; it can be treated.  
  
That's great, it means the voices can go away and never bother  
me again like they were then.  
  
//Everybody hates and everybody dies//  
  
//Begin to separate//  
  
//A world that's full of lies//  
  
But of course, there was a catch. There's always a catch. The  
'treatment' meant more drugs and my own willpower to make the  
'darkness' go away. What the hell does he think I've been trying  
to do for the past couple of months? Sing 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'  
and act perfectly normal?  
  
I -know- I'm a pretty stubborn guy, so willpower isn't the  
problem, I've got plenty of it. Just not enough to make the  
voices shut up for good on my own.  
  
//Separate yourself//  
  
//To separated self//  
  
//Separate yourself//  
  
//To separated self//  
  
Then came the miracle.  
  
Oh dear God, I don't think even You could ever understand how I  
felt.  
  
Wufei came; he came to save me...  
  
...and I'll be damned if I've seen him any more scared before  
than he was the instant he walked into my nice padded room. No  
one else may have been able to see it, but I could, no matter  
how much he was trying to hide it with his comfort.  
  
//Surely there's a better place for me//  
  
//A place where I can spend eternity//  
  
//A place where there is no more pain//  
  
//And there is only sunshine reigning//  
  
//And there is no one walking on their knees//  
  
Wufei came to save me...he made the voices go away with one  
simple touch...there was nothing tearing apart my mind...no  
pain...no memories...no screaming.  
  
No God, not even You could understand how good it felt to be  
free like this, if only just for a moment.  
  
He won't let them get me, he promised. He never breaks promises.  
I'm so happy I don't care how crazy I sound right now. They're  
gonna help me and make everything better again, I'll do whatever  
they say if it makes the voices go away and I can be human  
again.  
  
//Everybody hates and everybody dies//  
  
//Begin to separate//  
  
//A world that's full of lies//  
  
//Separate yourself//  
  
//To separated self//  
  
Wufei said they're gonna help me...I don't care how crazy or  
pathetic I might sound, just don't leave, please don't leave me  
here.  
  
I wish I could go with him, even if it's not to see Quatre and  
Trowa, I just want out here, to be around people again. Anyone  
would do.  
  
Just don't leave me in here, the voices might return...  
  
//My angels they surround me//  
  
//My demons they have found me//  
  
//My demons they surround me//  
  
//My angels they have found me//  
  
//Now//  
  
*** 


	6. Chapter 6

*holds up sign: "MAJOR WUFEI TORTURE"*  
  
*ahem* Just had to get that out of the way. ^^;;; But yes, I  
torment poor Wufei...again...in this chapter. *sigh* And Duo.  
I'm certainly having way too much fun with this whole torture  
thing.  
  
^_^ Reviews!!!  
  
Nelia: Yes, this is going to be one hell of a recovery...and I  
think this chapter will answer any questions about Wufei and the  
others' help. ^_^  
  
Jesanae Tekani: Thank you, thank you. *bows* Yesh, poor, poor  
Duo, but just remember, the worst of it's over now that they  
know what's wrong and how to fix it. ^_^ I luff 2x5!  
  
Lady Rune: Why thank you very much, I'm flattered that you think  
this insanity of mine is beautiful. ^^;;  
  
Silverqueen: Oh I know exactly how you feel, when you get all  
into a new fic, then they haven't updated in -ages-...gah, that  
drives me nuts! I would never do that, if I know I'm not gonna  
be able to finish a fic, then I don't bother writing it. I only  
write what I know I'll finish, and I try my hardest to update  
every week. ^_^  
  
Firedraygon97: Duo will be let out in a few chapters, you gotta  
wait until Wufei and the psycho-doctor bring him out of his  
episode so he doesn't flip out. ^^;;  
  
Shella: I've already started writing the School Girl Wufei fic.  
^_^ So far it's only a couple pages, but it was certainly  
enough to alleviate all the angst and drama from the last  
chapter. Of course, now I'm gonna have to go work on it again  
after writing about Wufei and torturing him. ^^;; And I got your  
e-mail!!!!! I -love- those stories you sent me, I thought it was  
funny how Wufei wanted to strangle Duo for making him dress like  
a Catholic School Girl and Trowa recording the whole thing.  
Sick, sick little Unibang...*shakes her head*  
  
Kinishi: Ah man, I hate when I write a really long review and it  
like cuts half of it off, or my computer freezes as I'm trying  
to post it and it doesn't go through, so you gotta remember  
everything that you wrote so that you can write it over again.  
Ack, I hate that. But anyways, who wouldn't be happy when the  
psychiatrist came in and took off the restraints? Sure there was  
a catch, but at least they're off! I know what you mean though,  
I had to go to a psychologist multiple times, and it got to the  
point to where all I had to do was say the things she wanted to  
hear and I would be able to go. I blew up at the school guidance  
counselor, so she never called me down to her office again.  
*sweatdrop* But yes, it was easier for Duo to put on the mask  
during the wars because he had things to focus on like missions  
and Deathscythe, and he had the other pilots there with him at  
the time. And in a way, Wufei is Duo's lifeline of sorts, so far  
he's been the only one who has been able to pull Duo back into  
reality and actually hold a conversation with him. Of course, I  
have yet to bring in Quatre and Trowa, so...^_^ I hope you  
enjoy this chapter!  
  
Meanne77: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this! ^_^ I myself  
don't have any psychological problems either, as far I know  
anyways, but I know people who -do- and I'd been taking  
Psychology too, so I'm trying to keep this as real as possible.  
And I think we love to see them suffer because so many people  
write light, fluffy fics, so an angst-y, torture fic is fresh  
and a lot more enjoyable. ^^;;  
  
KDA: Glad you're liking this! ^_^ And don't worry about 'Blood  
Lust', it's all good. I think I will do a sequel to it  
eventually...just the plot to the sequel is what I'm stumped on.  
I already have ideas for a sequel for 'Nowhere To Run', the one  
where Duo finds Heero three years after he disappeared when the  
wars were finished in a bar, but I dunno...I would rather write  
my other story ideas before writing a sequel to any of my  
stories. The wall by my CD player is -covered- in sticky notes  
with ideas written all over them, it's crazy. But anywho, Quatre  
and Trowa's reaction will come along within the next third-  
person POV chapter I think, when Wufei brings them in with him.  
^_^  
  
Yaay! I think that's all the reviews...so on with the story!!  
^__^  
  
***  
  
"Preventers Headquarters."  
  
"Sally?"  
  
The blonde woman on the video screen smirked amusedly. "So now  
it's 'Sally', eh Wufei? What game are you trying to  
play...What's wrong?" She immediately backpedaled her teasing at  
the disturbed expression blanching Wufei's features. "What's  
going on?"  
  
"I...I just don't know how to explain it," he began slowly,  
shaking his head. "I need to take a few days off, it's urgent,  
can you tell Lady Une that?"  
  
Sally's mien took on a more maternal, concerned older-sisterly  
air. "What's going on?" she repeated more forcibly. "You don't  
look too good, talk to me Wufei."  
  
Wufei hesitated uncertainly. "What do you know about manic  
depression?"  
  
"It's a severe mental disorder, unpredictable. The person can be  
fine one day then be highly paranoid and out of control the  
next, the episodes can last a week, or for months, depending on  
if it's untreated-" Sally abruptly cut off, her blue eyes  
widening slightly. "Don't tell -you're-"  
  
"No! I mean, it's not -me- exactly..." he paused again, looking  
uncomfortable. "It's Duo."  
  
"Duo?" she replied incredulously.  
  
"Yes, Quatre and Trowa are also here with me."  
  
"Surely Duo doesn't need all three of you there, does he?"  
  
Wufei's face darkened with a scowl. "Sally, he's in a damn  
mental institution! They have him shackled to a bed and sedated  
so he doesn't scream and tear himself apart..." He shuddered  
visibly. "I'm staying here for a while to see if I can help.  
Please Sally, just tell Lady Une I won't be back at the  
headquarters for a few more days then planned, and don't say  
anything about this to anyone else."  
  
"I'm sorry for sounding harsh, I didn't realize it was that  
bad," Sally apologized sincerely. "I'll pass the word on to Une  
as soon as I get off with you, okay? And take care of yourself,  
I don't want Quatre and Trowa bringing you back exhausted  
because you've gone and overburdened yourself."  
  
"Yes mother," Wufei said sarcastically, but he added a quiet  
'Thank you' before cutting off their video transmission. He  
sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose again as he  
headed for the psychiatrist's office. Doctor Woods had gone  
ahead to speak with Quatre and Trowa while he had made the call  
to Sally.  
  
Upon entering the room, there was certainly a more upbeat feel  
to the air than there had been before. The blonde Arabian,  
though tired, looked considerably relieved as he smiled up at  
Wufei when he came in and sat down beside Trowa in Heero's  
vacated armchair.  
  
"As I was saying," said Doctor Woods, his gaze flickering over  
to him then returned to Quatre. "I believe there is plenty of  
hope for Mister Maxwell to make a full recovery from this.  
Though I did not get a very pleasing response from him, he  
responded very well to Mister Chang here when I allowed him in  
during the reevaluation. I must admit I was wrong in thinking  
that you would be in any way a negative influence, and I  
apologize for it."  
  
"That's not necessary," Wufei muttered. "I was the one who was  
out of line, I let my temper get the better of me." The  
psychiatrist merely raised an eyebrow at the significant  
mellowing the Asian's attitude had taken. "I was able to reach  
one of my colleagues at the headquarters and she's going to let  
my superior know of my extended absence."  
  
"So you plan on staying for the whole procedure?" Trowa asked  
mildly.  
  
"As long as I can," he replied adamantly. "I feel guilty, and  
the only way to get rid of my guilt is to put all my effort into  
helping Duo."  
  
"Wufei..." began Quatre tentatively.  
  
"If you're going to tell me it's not our fault, then I'm not  
listening," he interrupted firmly. "If we're done here, I would  
like to go back to Duo's room for a while, I promised I would  
see him again when we were through."  
  
Doctor Woods shook his head and Wufei got to his feet once more  
and walked out. "He is quite the obstinate one once he makes up  
his mind, isn't he?" he commented wryly.  
  
"Only when pursuing justice," Quatre replied, frowning slightly.  
"He takes personal honor very seriously and will do whatever  
possible to ensure that it isn't shamed. Something like this is  
a hard blow to his honor as a friend, so he -is- going to stick  
to it until the end, no matter what. Trowa and I will have to  
pry him away with a gundanium crowbar if we ever plan to get him  
out of here tonight."  
  
The two stood; Trowa gathering Wufei's long forgotten uniform  
jacket and katana as Quatre thanked the psychiatrist earnestly  
and they went out into the hall to catch up with their Chinese  
comrade.  
  
***  
  
Wufei was only halfway to his destination when the couple  
reached him.  
  
"Wait a moment, will you?"  
  
He stopped and looked back at them with a half annoyed, half  
tired expression clouding his golden visage. "What?"  
  
Worry creased the blonde's brow as he reached out and touched  
the Asian's arm. "You're not alone in this Wufei, remember  
that," he said quietly. "We are as much at fault as you are, as  
I tried to say twice before, but you wouldn't listen."  
  
The last broken bits of his battered, proud resolve finally  
began to crumble. "I..." Wufei cast his intense onyx gaze to the  
floor. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay, we just want you to bear in mind that Quatre and I  
are here too," Trowa replied gently. He indicated his forgotten  
belongings and added with a hint of wryness, "Besides, without  
us, you would be leaving your things all over the place and  
there would be no one to keep you from beating yourself up too  
badly."  
  
Wufei suddenly chuckled. "Sally gave me that remark too, when I  
called her earlier. 'Take care of yourself, I don't want Quatre  
and Trowa bringing you back exhausted because you've gone and  
overburdened yourself'. Honestly, I think that woman knows me  
too well for comfort," he shook his head amusedly.  
  
"Yes, as do we," Quatre smiled slightly. "That's why while  
you're with Duo, I will be checking us into the nearest hotel so  
we'll have a place to stay while we're here." Wufei opened his  
mouth to respond, but he spoke again, "I insist on it, so  
there's no use arguing. We'll be waiting out front for you, all  
right?"  
  
Wufei only nodded with a resigned sigh and continued on down the  
hallway.  
  
"He's too hard on himself," Trowa said, watching him walk away  
with a small frown.  
  
Quatre's cerulean eyes were troubled as they headed outside to  
wait.  
  
'Or maybe we're not hard enough on ourselves...'  
  
***  
  
The keepers outside Duo's room did not even blink as Wufei  
approached and went in alone, shutting the door carefully behind  
him.  
  
Duo sat cross-legged on the center of the bed, twisting and  
untwisting a long strand of chestnut hair around his slender  
fingers in unease, his violet gaze dim as his mind wandered in  
thought. At the sound of the door opening, his head instantly  
shot up and he beamed with immense relief.  
  
"You came back."  
  
"Of course I did Duo, I promised, didn't I?" Wufei smiled,  
sitting with him on the bed. Inside, he squirmed uncomfortably;  
he looked so happy at the mere fact that he had returned...  
  
"Yes you did," said Duo cheerfully. "Where's Quatre and Trowa?  
You said you had to talk to them when you left."  
  
"Ah, well, they're out finding somewhere to stay," he replied,  
becoming even more uncomfortable as he shifted his weight with a  
squeak of springs. "We aren't allowed here after hours."  
  
"Oh..." The twisted strand of hair dropped from his grasp.  
"...so you have to leave..."  
  
Wufei took his pale hands in his own and squeezed them  
reassuringly. "Yes, but only for now though. We'll be back first  
thing tomorrow morning, and we're going to be here to help until  
you're well again."  
  
"Because you promised."  
  
"Yes, because I promised," he repeated firmly.  
  
"But what happens when I get out here?"  
  
Wufei was unsure how to answer the soft question. "I...Well,  
whatever you want to."  
  
Duo went silent, staring down at their hands with a somewhat  
pained grimace, though before he could say anything, the door  
opened and one of the keepers stuck his head in.  
  
"Mister Chang, you have to go now."  
  
"I know," Wufei squeezed Duo's hands again and began to rise.  
"I'll be back tomorrow, I swear."  
  
He released his grip reluctantly and headed to the door and as  
it shut behind him, Duo's barely whispered words went unheard.  
  
"...I don't want to be left alone..."  
  
***  
  
*sniffle* Okay people, you know the drill...Click! Review!  
Flame...whichever suits; just remember that flames will be used  
to toast my marshmallows. ^_^ 


	7. Chapter 7

*holds up sign: "MAJOR DUO SELF-TORTURE AHEAD"*  
  
*ahem* Yes folks, I delve deeper into the darker side of the  
paranoia in manic depression. Our cheerful, optimistic Duo  
actually doubts himself and the other pilots. It's quite angsty,  
I had to stop multiple times and you'll find this chapter a tad  
shorter than the others. But don't worry, I'll make up for it in  
the next chapter as Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei talk and all that  
fun stuff.  
  
Anywho, I'll move onto reviews before I give too much away. ^^;;  
  
Quillan: Well of course you can have more if you're enjoying  
this insanity! ^_^ In a story like this, it's essential to get  
down to the nitty-gritty in their minds, that's where a lot of  
authors go wrong in stories. They get so involved in detail that  
they don't consider what the characters are actually thinking or  
feeling. I'm the painful combination of both! (Much to the G-  
boys' chagrin) I get detailed, but I dig into their minds and  
bring out different facets of their personalities...and Goddess  
I'm sounding like a psychology textbook. *sweatdrop* Anyway!  
Have fun with the next chapter! ^^;;  
  
WolfQueen821: Hell yeah Duo's gonna get better! O.o;; I can't  
take much more of this angst! I think this is the last dark dip  
and I'm going to start the recovery, as much as I love torturing  
the G-boys, this is -hard-. My poor brain goes on angst overload  
then I run off to vent it out on 'Sweet Revenge', which has  
become quite the disturbingly humorous fic of Wufei in drag.  
Quatre and Trowa get to see Duo in the next chapter with Wufei,  
and Heero...I dunno about him, it just all depends. *shrug*  
  
Meanne77: Lol, yeah, I used to be quite the avid 1x2x1 fan  
too...then I read a 2x5 and got -hooked-, just something about  
Duo and Wufei clicked in my mind and they've been my absolute  
fave pairing since. I still like 1x2x1, but I'm more partial to  
2x5x2 now. *sweatdrop* Glad you're liking this so much! ^_^  
  
Nelia: Yes, yes, sad chapter ending. This one's just as bad, if  
not worse. *sigh* But I think this is going to be the last dark  
dip, I don't think my poor brain could take any more Duo-angst.  
Quatre and Trowa's reactions are going to be quite entertaining  
to write, I've got something planned, it's just writing it out  
that's going to be a touch difficult. *sigh* But yeah, I thought  
I would throw Wufei for a loop by having Duo ask 'what next?'.  
Besides, it leads into this self-torture chapter. ^_^  
  
Goddess Of Death: Well, if you like torture, then you're going  
to thoroughly enjoy this chapter. ^_^ I'm so horrible to my  
beloved G-boys.  
  
Dark Ice: Yaay! Eraser fight! Who won? *grin* I got into a  
machete fight with my friends the other day...though machetes  
are lot more sharp and painful than erasers...o.o; *ahem*  
Anywho...the sparkly light at the end of the tunnel will  
definitely be clear next chapter! I promise! ^_^  
  
Sen: Wow! So many reviews! ^_^ Well thank you very much for all  
the humbling praise bestowed upon my insane musings. And it only  
gets better! *grin* For some more angst, get into 'Blood Lust',  
there are plenty of sniffly-get-tissues moments in that. ^_^ And  
it's completed, so no waiting for chapters!  
  
Shella: Yeah, 'Poor Duo' and 'Poor Wufei' is going to be  
repeated so many times before I finish this...*sigh* Then  
there's all the 'Poor Wufei' moments in 'Sweet  
Revenge'...*cracks up laughing think of Wufei in drag* ANYWAYS!  
I didn't even realize the perversion in Sally's comment. How  
could I have missed that? *sweatdrop* I pride myself on innuendo  
and I didn't even notice that! Of course, now that I know that,  
I won't be able to read it and not laugh anymore...^^;;; *ahem*  
Anywho, yes, all the angsty build up between Duo's state and  
Wufei's stubbornness to help out of guilt is enough to make any  
self-respecting fangirl melt into a puddle. That's why this  
chapter was cut short! I couldn't make myself write any more Duo  
self-torture! (And that's also why chapter 2 to 'Sweet Revenge'  
got out so quickly...*guilty look*) And Trowa is going to  
realize -exactly- how wrong he was in telling Quatre that Wufei  
is too hard on himself when they get to visit Duo next chapter.  
I expect Heero's answering machine is going to have a call or  
two blasting him for just leaving like he did...^_^  
  
P-chan-TheLostGirl: Thank you very much for your lovely praise!  
^^;; I know how you feel, I'm an avid 2x5x2 fan also, and it's  
-hard- to find good fics out there (I suggest wufeiduo.net, the  
WufeiDuoYaoiML, nothing but awesome 2x5x2 and other pairings  
fics). I try to keep everything as real as possible (of course  
there is the exception of my vampire fic, but that's a  
reasonable exception), it gives the story more feeling if you  
come from experience and know what you're talking about. *nod*  
Anyways, enjoy! ^_^  
  
Silversqueen: Yes, I'm sure everyone reading this wants to jump  
in and snuggle Duo-channerz to death. ^^;;; But that's what  
Wufei's for! This wouldn't be a 2x5x2 fic if he wasn't! ^_^  
  
Kinishi: Thank you, thank you. *bows* But yes, Duo is going to  
sound a bit off as he's gradually coming out of the 'darkness',  
though he's be all right soon. Wufei may be a bit hard on  
himself, but Trowa is going to realize that his words are a  
mistake too, taking this too lightly. Quatre is like a balancer,  
he knows the seriousness of the situation but also knows when to  
step in or stand back and let Wufei handle it. *nod* Anyways,  
have fun reading!  
  
On with the story! ^_^  
  
***  
  
'...I don't want to be left alone...'  
  
Funny, how one can make a few simple words sound so powerful yet  
so very pathetic at the same time. Of course, that's what I'm  
here for, right?  
  
The pathetic ex-pilot of the powerful Gundam Deathscythe. Yeah,  
has a nice ring to it, don't you agree? And it's a complete  
oxymoron.  
  
Or maybe I'm the moron.  
  
Even a moron can kill people you know. All those stupid  
murderers and terrorists couldn't have had an IQ higher than 70,  
it's why they were always caught or killed by their own plans.  
  
Yes, the -great- Shinigami has been reduced to a thing that has  
to depend on others just because he couldn't handle killing a  
few people during the wars. That's what war is for, isn't it?  
The price for peace being lots of death...but clearly, I  
couldn't handle it.  
  
Don't think I couldn't tell how uncomfortable Wufei felt when he  
came to see me the second time. So now not only did I have the  
other guys scared shitless, but now they can't stand to be  
around me either, because they know what's going on in this  
crazy mind of mine.  
  
Oh wait, I forgot, I'm -not- crazy anymore.  
  
Sure seems like I am though.  
  
I'm just another reminder now of the hell we all went through  
since the day we were picked out by the scientists and trained  
to be the killers to eliminate the OZ threat. Shock a lab rat  
enough times and it'll learn not to go the wrong way through the  
maze, I'm sure that's how this is. They've all gone on with  
their lives and found their own peace, then here I come  
barreling right into it all with my voices and their accusations  
of murder and my own desperate need to have someone there for  
me.  
  
They've gone through the pain to recover and here I am tearing  
open the old scars with a wooden spoon. The last time me and  
Wufei were in a room alone together was on the Lunar Base in a  
prison cell and Tuburov had cut off the oxygen supply to the  
whole damn cell block to kill us and the scientists. [1]  
  
They've been shocked beyond feeling anymore, they're not going  
to take the wrong way through the maze of life and relive the  
past again.  
  
Starting the countdown isn't even worth it, Wufei's not gonna  
come back.  
  
'Quatre and Trowa are out finding somewhere to stay'...  
  
Right.  
  
It's more like: 'Quatre and Trowa are off flagging down the  
nearest departing shuttle so we can blow this mad house before  
you even realize what we're doing'.  
  
That's a lot more believable.  
  
Well, at least it's a lot more believable then how he held my  
hands and told me everything was going to be fine and sounded so  
sincere...  
  
And made me feel alive for the first time in ages. Alive, happy,  
relieved...  
  
Oh please God, let me be wrong.  
  
Please, please, please let me be wrong.  
  
Tell me it's real, it's not an act, that it's my own problematic  
insecurities warping the truth beyond rational reason.  
  
Wow, look at all those big words, maybe I'm not the idiot I  
thought I was.  
  
Or I've really got to stop listening to that psychiatrist with  
his complicated doctor terminology.  
  
I wish I had a clock so I knew what time it was. I've never been  
a patient person and here I am waiting to see if whether or not  
the guys are going to show up again.  
  
I really hate waiting.  
  
It seems like I've been doing nothing but wait since the wars.  
Waiting to fight, waiting to die, waiting for the war to be  
over, waiting for peace, waiting for my sanity to break (though  
I'm supposedly -not- crazy anymore), waiting for someone to make  
the voices go away, and now waiting for that someone to come  
back.  
  
I really, really hate waiting.  
  
Wufei's gonna come back because he promised, and I'll renounce  
my Shinigami title if I've ever seen him break a promise.  
  
They'll come back, they have to...  
  
I don't want to be left here alone.  
  
***  
  
[1] I was seriously about to cry when Duo and Wufei were in that  
cell, of course, it could have also been from all the Quatre-  
angst. I bawled when they killed his father and Iria died and  
when he was under the Zero system and tried to kill Trowa and  
Heero...*proud owner of the Complete Operations DVD box set, so  
she can watch these scenes over and over again to torment  
herself into writing the angst needed for her fics*  
  
Speaking of crying, has anyone watched the X series? They have  
like four DVDs right now, but I was watching the fourth DVD  
where Kamui finally chooses the Dragons of Heaven and Fuma  
awakens as the other 'Kamui' for the Dragons of Earth and kills  
Kotori...Goddess, I was bawling. My friend thought I was crazy  
because I was crying over anime, but he's no where near obsessed  
as I am, so he just didn't understand. *sigh* He has much yet to  
learn about the ways of otaku-ness.  
  
*ahem* Anyways! Click! Review! Flame...whichever suits. ^^;;; 


	8. Chapter 8

Gomen ne minna-san!!! *bows repeatedly* I know I am running a  
bit behind with this chapter, but I'll be damned, DVG had a  
writer's block. *melodramatic gasp* It took me forever to get  
through the Duo scene, but it's finished now, and like I  
promised, it's longer than normal, so you can all read and  
enjoy! ^_^;;  
  
Also, the next chapter might remain in the third person POV  
instead of reverting back to Duo's POV like I have been, because  
I want to get into what Trowa and Quatre think about the  
situation. ^_^ I believe there might also be a pissed off Trowa  
call to Heero...*shrug* I dunno, we'll know when I get to  
writing it. *sweatdrop*  
  
Reviews! ^_^  
  
Goddess Of Death: I know exactly how you feel. *sigh* I'm always  
getting weird looks because I'll go off at random and start  
babbling on about Duo and Gundam Wing or Kamui and X and  
everyone would be like 'What the hell are you talking about?'  
Poor, deprived masses. *shakes head disbelievingly*  
  
Nelia: Hey my Nelia-chan! *huggle* I posted the first chapter to  
'Blood Lust' at your group! ^_^ *ahem* But yes, I have the nasty  
habit of not being able to wait. I'm so horribly impatient, it  
drives everyone nuts. I can never sit still, I'm always doing  
something to keep me occupied if I have to wait. ^_^;; And of  
course Wufei means what he says, Duo was just going through the  
darker side of manic depression in which you doubt everyone and  
everything, even yourself, it's not pretty. Anywho! Now that the  
moment of seriousness is out of the way...*sweatdrop* Sorry for  
taking so long to update, I was having a bit of a writer's  
block. *sigh* But here's the new chapter!  
  
P-chan: Awww, don't feel bad about being a 'weepy freak', I get  
that too. It's funny, cause I only get all upset over anime, I  
can watch anything else and not be affected by it, but show me  
an angsty anime scene and I'll start getting teary-eyed.  
*sweatdrop* I'm trying to get my greedy otaku hands on X Five,  
since I'm left hanging at the part where Fuma killed  
Kotori...*sniffle* All I need is thirty bucks...and I'm broke.  
-_-; *ahem* Anywho, I'm glad you're liking this insane musing of  
mine, and I apologize for taking so long to update!! ^_^;;  
  
Kinishi: Awww, well I'm glad you thought the chapter was good.  
^_^;; But yes, I know if I had to go to a psych ward, I would be  
tripping out over being jumped by someone. O.o;;; But of course,  
the G-boys couldn't exactly have been considered -sane- during  
the wars, ne? So a place like a mental institution wouldn't  
affect them much probably...*shrug* And yes, Duo's doubt is sad,  
but it's part of the manic depression, when they begin to doubt  
like that, it's not exactly their actual thought, it's the  
paranoia taking over and twisting their actual thoughts into  
suspicion and doubt. Not fun, lemme tell you, especially to  
write. *sigh* But yes, no voices to bother him. ^_^ And I do  
believe Heero will return from Relena's conference early, I  
might have a pissed off Quatre and Trowa leave him a message on  
his vidphone. *grin* Anywho, here's the next chapter! ^_^  
  
Smiley-person: Yes! Long Live Gundam Wing! ^__^ Never seen  
Gravitation, so I wouldn't know about that, so I'll take your  
word on it. *wink* Glad you like the story so far! ^_^  
  
Shella: ^_^;; Yes, Duo's quite the angsty little thing in this  
fic. 3+4 hints? Is that the Ultimate 3x4 Evidence site? I have  
that one saved on my favorites, I had to watch the whole GW  
series to see all the stuff after reading that site...one of the  
reasons it took so long to update. *guilty look* ^_^;;; So you  
think I did okay on all that Duo self-torture? I like writing  
the Duo POV for that exact reason, I like the feeling of writing  
a character's monologue because it comes a lot easier like  
you're following a thought pattern without having to worry about  
outside details, it flows a lot better to me. Duo's plea for  
sincerity was the hardest part of that chapter to write, after  
all the self-depreciation and doubt, that part was just painful.  
The smart-ass comment was just a random side effect of all the  
mind-boggling angsty-ness. *sweatdrop* Now you see how I got  
Chapter 3 to 'Sweet Revenge' out so quickly. ^_^;;; I had let  
out some humor to balance out the angsty-ness! Anywho! Onwards  
with the next chapter, eh?  
  
Dark Ice: Aren't you glad you stuck with all the crazy-ness?  
^_^;; I'm glad you're liking this insane musing of mine after  
the creepy-ness subsided. *grin* And no, Wufei is -not- going to  
chicken out, how can this be a 2x5x2 fic if he does? ^_^  
Besides, Wufei is a man of his word, and he promised. *nod* But  
yes, X is certainly not a little kids' series. ^_^ Especially in  
the fourth, when Fuma kills Kotori, I swear, he was like  
THISCLOSE to kissing Kamui like ten times! I got the shivers  
when he licked the blood off his neck...*shiver* I'm dying to  
get my hands on X Five, I've -got- to see what happens! ^_^;;;  
  
Now that reviews are out of the way...On with the show! ^_^;;  
  
***  
  
Quatre and Trowa were sitting out on the stone steps of the  
entrance in quiet conversation when Wufei finally emerged from  
the building, his expression troubled and meditative.  
  
"Ready to go Wufei?" Quatre asked gently, carefully masking his  
concern at the feelings emanating from the Asian. Now was not  
the time to be questioning the ex-pilot, he could wait until he  
had rested and cleared the confusion from his thoughts.  
  
"I guess so," Wufei glanced up at the institution and sighed  
heavily, joining the couple as they went down the stairs to the  
parking lot where their rental cars were. He couldn't remember  
ever being to thoroughly tired in his whole life, not even in  
the ceaseless battling during the wars. He was ready to just  
burrow himself underneath the covers and sleep for a week, but  
he couldn't do that, as much as he wanted to rest, his desire to  
return and be with Duo was greater.  
  
Wufei followed Quatre and Trowa in his car to the hotel without  
argument, his body mechanically walking through the corridors  
and taking no notice to his surroundings as mind remained fogged  
in weariness and thought. The events of the day replayed  
themselves; the psychiatrist, the padded room, the restraints,  
Duo, the explanations, his call to Sally, the pained look on  
Duo's face before he left...  
  
They had caused all this. They had let one of their closest  
friends and comrades down in the worst way possible ways by not  
being there because they had been so absorbed in what -they- had  
wanted when he had clearly needed them so much after the wars.  
Personal honor and pride have nothing to do with this type of  
blatant disregard; it is a harsh reality that they had betrayed  
their friendship in their self-serving ignorance.  
  
Wufei gave the couple a distracted 'Goodnight' as he slouched  
off to his room in the two bedroom suite, absently tossing his  
belongs to the floor as he pulled off his black shirt and khakis  
and put on his blue tank top over his boxers. He didn't even  
bother with turning down the sheets as he dropped onto the bed,  
falling almost instantly to sleep.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, it took a moment for Wufei to readjust to his  
unfamiliar surroundings. Someone had come in after he had fallen  
asleep and put him under the covers and had tidied the mess he  
had left just inside the doorway. Undoubtedly Quatre. His  
rumpled uniform had been neatly folded and set on top of the  
dresser next to his overnight bag and his jacket and katana were  
on the chair beside his bed.  
  
He glanced blearily over at the clock as he rolled out from  
underneath the twisted sheets and was shocked to see it was past  
nine, he never slept in past six-thirty or seven normally. Wufei  
got up hastily, grabbing his white pants from his bag and  
straightened out his ponytail before coming out into the main  
room were the blonde Arabian and Trowa were already sitting.  
  
"How could you let me sleep in so late?" Wufei demanded, rubbing  
his face roughly to get rid of the lingering drowsiness.  
  
"You were tired, we didn't want to bother you," Trowa replied,  
shrugging slightly.  
  
"Besides, the clinic doesn't open to visitors until ten," Quatre  
added mildly, sipping his tea. "So sit and have some breakfast  
before it gets cold."  
  
He paused midstep, taken aback; he had practically read his mind  
about leaving. Wufei sat in the armchair next to them and poured  
himself a cup of coffee, not quite in the mood to be eating so  
soon after waking up as he nursed the steaming caffeinated  
liquid in silence.  
  
Quatre looked at him appraisingly while his heavy obsidian gaze  
remained focused broodingly mug in his hands, not taking note of  
the sharp scrutiny. He still appeared a bit worn out despite the  
extra time they had let him sleep, though it wasn't nearly as  
bad as it had been last night when he barely knew where he was  
or who he was with. That had worried Quatre, the fact that he  
had let himself become so emotionally drained in the course of a  
matter of hours. Yes, they were all guilty of allowing something  
this serious to happen to Duo without their knowledge, but if  
Wufei continued on the way he was, he was going to end up having  
a breakdown of his own before long from the sheer stress.  
  
He sighed inaudibly, leaning further into Trowa's one-armed  
embrace as he turned his eyes up to him; no words were needed  
for his quiet lover to understand what he was thinking.  
  
***  
  
Despite his silent, pondering mood during breakfast, Wufei had  
them all out of the door and to the institution right at ten.  
  
'Quite the obstinate one' seemed almost an understatement to him  
when Doctor Woods found the three waiting patiently, or rather  
the couple waiting patiently while the Chinese Preventer paced  
restlessly, outside his office much to his evident amusement.  
  
"Good morning," he smiled. "I suppose no news is good news,  
Mister Maxwell remained quiet all last night and even slept a  
nice portion of it. I was with him about an hour ago and he was  
very eager to see you, we had a lovely conversation about  
whether or not the 'crazy Maganacs' had followed Mister Winner  
here from L4 to keep an eye on him."  
  
Quatre blushed slightly. "No, Rasid and the others are helping  
my sisters with the corporation while I'm gone."  
  
"That didn't keep Auda and Abdul from trying to sneak on board  
before we left," Trowa added with a small smirk.  
  
"Twenty-eight sisters can only watch so many of the forty  
Maganacs at once, they were bound to find out that we were  
leaving by ourselves eventually," he dismissed lightly. "You  
know how they are Trowa, we can never keep a secret from them."  
  
"You have twenty-eight sisters?" Wufei asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, it would be twenty-nine to tell you the truth, but..."  
Quatre's bright smile faltered and he didn't finish his comment.  
  
Doctor Woods surveyed him with interest; there was obviously a  
momentous story behind the 'but' and a great deal of bottled up  
grief hidden beneath his sprightly exterior. The Asian was  
clearly as much in the dark about it as he was by the quizzical  
frown on his face, but Trowa had a commiserating expression in  
place of his smirk and he wrapped his arms tighter around the  
small blonde in comfort.  
  
"So are we all allowed to see Duo at once, or do we have to go  
in separately?" Quatre inquired, his cheerfulness set firmly  
back in place as he pointedly changed the subject.  
  
"I think it would be safe for the three of you to go in all at  
once," the psychiatrist answered, still looking interested in  
his previous discussion.  
  
This got a derisive snort from Wufei. "'It would be safe'. Of  
course it's safe, he would probably more rather it be us instead  
of you and your keepers."  
  
"Ah, and the sarcasm returns," Doctor Woods said amusedly. "We  
are not really as bad as you seem to think, Mister Chang."  
  
"I'm sure you're not," he replied dryly, narrowing his eyes.  
"Forgive me if I don't believe that."  
  
"Come on Wufei, we don't want to leave Duo waiting any more, now  
do we?" Quatre asked persuasively, coaxing him out of starting  
an argument with the psychiatrist.  
  
Wufei snorted again, but allowed himself to be towed off down  
the corridor away from the office by the two before pulling back  
and walking on his own accord. "Doctors think they know  
everything, don't they? Someone should bring down their egos  
before their heads get too big," he asserted darkly.  
  
"Your provoking doesn't help any," Trowa remarked mildly.  
  
"I really don't care. Let me have a few minutes with him, I will  
show him the appropriate way of treating his patients and  
visitors."  
  
"You will not," Quatre opposed firmly. "The last thing we need  
right now is to cause trouble when Doctor Woods has been nothing  
but kind to us."  
  
They came upon Duo's room and found it unmanned by the usual  
guards, undoubtedly a prior action done by the psychiatrist to  
give them privacy.  
  
"Quatre! Trowa! WUFEI!" At the Asian's name, Duo pushed himself  
up off the bed ecstatically and practically tackled Wufei into  
the cushioned wall as he threw his arms around him, a broad grin  
plastered across his lean features. The excursion, though short  
as it had been, had seemed to drain what little energy he had  
had built up in his excitement, and Wufei had to quickly get a  
hold of his small waist before he sagged to the floor.  
  
"Allah, you're so thin Duo," Quatre said worriedly, following  
Wufei as he set him down onto the bed again. "When was the last  
time you ate?"  
  
"Uh...I don't know?" Duo replied meekly, his frown going puzzled  
as he tried to piece together the past week. "I've been here for  
maybe three days...and...I can't really remember how long I was  
out of it at my house before they came and got me..."  
  
The blonde looked appalled. "We're going to fix that, Trowa and  
I will go get something and bring it back."  
  
"They're going to stop us."  
  
"Let them try! We'll let Wufei can take care of them."  
  
"I thought the last thing we needed was to cause trouble?" Wufei  
asked wryly from his seat next to Duo.  
  
"Then I retract that statement," he answered stiffly. Trowa  
shook his head amusedly as Quatre hauled him out of the room,  
leaving the two alone.  
  
"Doctor Quack is gonna have to watch himself while Q-man's in  
his Mother Hen mode," Duo chuckled, laying back onto his pillow  
with a soft sigh.  
  
"Yes, I believe he'll get a rather nasty shock if he runs into  
Quatre on their way out," Wufei smirked slightly and turned  
around, sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed so that he  
faced the former Deathscythe pilot.  
  
Duo started toying with a strand hair, suddenly seeming anxious  
as he sat up and mirrored his cross-legged position, refusing to  
meet to his onyx gaze. Wufei was sharply reminded of the way he  
had seen him the night before when he came in the room to say  
goodbye, he had looked like a little kid who knew he was about  
to get in trouble for something he had done.  
  
"Fei..." He began nervously, fidgeting as his dark violet eyes  
flickered up briefly then returned to his twisting fingers.  
"...why are you being so nice to me?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Wufei asked, perplexed.  
  
"Well...every time I do something stupid and get caught like  
this, you usually get pissed off at me and all..."  
  
Wufei frowned as he winced as if he were going to be hit. "Duo,  
this is not your fault, so don't think for a minute that it is.  
I would never get angry with you about this, if anything I  
should be angry with myself for letting it happen, which I am.  
I'm angry with -myself-, we let you down by not keeping in  
contact with you and allowing something this serious to happen  
to one our closest friends." He unfolded his legs and moved over  
so he was kneeling beside the long-haired teen, gently releasing  
the twisted hair from his grasp and brushing it over his  
shoulder. "I mean it, you aren't at fault here, we are. If I'm  
'pissed off' with anyone, it is myself and the others, not you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, really," Wufei smiled reassuringly, a strange feeling  
flaring up in his chest as Duo's doleful face broke into a  
genuine grin.  
  
***  
  
Lovely thing to end the chapter with, eh? *grin*  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Whichever suits...and (shameless plug) I  
might suggest to alleviate the angst, go check out the other fic  
I have in progress, 'Sweet Revenge'.  
  
Who wouldn't pass up a chance to see Wufei in drag? *grin* 


	9. Chapter 9

I hope that the shockingly long length of this chapter makes up  
for the lateness! *sweatdrop* It's nearly twice as long as the  
other chapters, almost seven pages long! As I mentioned in the  
new chapter of 'Fatal Asphyxiation', chapter for my stories  
might become a bit more spaced out than usual because of the  
horrendous load of summer work I have to do for school before it  
starts back up. *dies* It's torture! But I will be sure to try  
and get out chapters a regular pace, though if I don't, you know  
why! ^_^;  
  
This lengthy chapter contains kawaii 3+4 moments with a dash of  
Heero-shock, an even more kawaii Wufei/Duo moment, AND- *dun dun  
dun* I do believe this is the first time I have never bashed  
Relena in a fic. *shock* I actually make her quite nice and  
understanding...I'm worry about my own sanity sometimes...let  
alone that of the G-boys. O.o;;  
  
The angsty-ness! The humor! The drama! The sexual innuendo! Er-  
*cough* Ignore that last one...(hint: look closely at what  
Relena says... *snicker*)  
  
Reviews! ^__^  
  
Dark Ice: I know that there isn't a time limit, but I do try to  
get chapters out every week, week and half or so, no more than  
two weeks at most if I can help it. ^_^;; Considering that I  
didn't get said smack in the head, I think I didn't take too  
long with this chapter. *sweatdrop* Read and enjoy! ^_^  
  
C-Chan2: Lol, I feel your pain! It annoys me to no end when  
ff.net acts up and won't let me read chapters to stories or  
anything. *grumble* But I'm certainly glad that you're liking my  
insane musings so far! I talk out loud all the time, my parents  
have gotten used to my ramblings, they've given up trying to  
think that I'm sane. *snicker* You, me, and Duo can all share a  
padded room together! ^__^ Happy reading!  
  
WolfQueen821: Yes, it was brief, but they return and stay for  
the bulk of this chapter, so no worries! In fact, Trowa makes a  
nice little call to Heero about going AWOL on Duo. ^__^  
  
Shini-girl Kit: This is sweet? *blink blink* A few moments are  
sweet, but most of this fic is pure, grade A angst at its  
finest. ^__^ I'm glad you're liking it! Read and enjoy!  
  
Nelia: Ah, my Nelia-chan! If you think Quatre's Mother Hen mode  
is good, wait until you see what Trowa does. *wink* It's always  
the silent ones you gotta worry about...And of course Wufei  
isn't mad at Duo! Duo's going to be getting a lot of things he  
needs right now, all thanks to the wonderful-ness Wufei. *purr*  
^___^  
  
O Genki Kitsune: Well, this chapter is considerably longer than  
the rest. I make a point to replying to all of my reviewers to  
show my undying appreciation for their taking the time to review  
to my little fic, sometimes it's the reviews that keep me from  
giving up on the story, so I must give credit where credit is  
due. ^_^ Happy reading!  
  
Sivy: The shoujen-ai will come soon enough. ^_^ For now, readers  
must be content with the 3x4 moments as I build on Wufei and  
Duo's relationship, have to take it nice a slow you know, so you  
all have the best quality romance and nothing rushed and half-  
hearted. ^_^  
  
P-chan: Fanart based on my fic? Awww...I think you've just made  
my day! ^__^ Hopefully I'll get a view of it soon! Until then,  
here is a lovely new chapter for you to sink your teeth into and  
enjoy!  
  
Shella: It's ok! I perfectly understand what you mean! *huggles*  
I had a moment where I was sidetracked from GW by the angsty  
teen Kamui in X, but until I get the next DVD, my distraction  
has returned to GW! ^_^;;; I see what you mean by the sentence  
running on a little, I tend to do that occasionally (okay, a  
-lot-), I write as I think, so it sounds right in my head and I  
dismiss it. And for the second sentence, I didn't mean for the  
tense to change, the ' it is a' was supposed to be 'it was the',  
I have no idea how it ended up like that. *sweatdrop* Other than  
the slight mishaps in sentence structure, I'm basking in your  
praise. ^_^;; It's my mission to slowly evolve Wufei's character  
as carefully as possible so it seems natural, like you said,  
this is an entirely different situation for him so it's bound to  
affect him. But I agree entirely, and Quatre gets a sneak peek  
at the nice Wufei in this chapter. And I don't think any of the  
G-boys would trust doctors, especially after what all they went  
through with those mad scientists, wouldn't you feel the same?  
And as for your plot duck...*purr* Just read, my precious  
Shella. ^__^ But yes, Doctor Woods is another character I'm  
trying to write carefully, not too obtrusive, though at the same  
time being an important part in the plot. I don't know why  
people hate Duo either, I luff him to the point of morbid  
obsession! ^__^ Maybe it is the voice, but I've watched it in  
Japanese, so I wouldn't know how bad the English dub is. *shrug*  
And Heero is about to get his skinny ass back in the picture  
after a nice little phone call from an appropriately pissed off  
Trowa. *snicker* But Relena doesn't find out, I actually write  
her as a normal human being for once, she understands. *shock*  
I'm losing my mind, honestly, for me to not bash Relena. I just  
updated 'Fatal', so there's a new chapter there along with this!  
I manage multiple fics by working on them in shifts, one day  
would be spent on 'Imaginary', the next 'Fatal', then the next  
'Revenge', I get a little routine going so that they're all  
updated every week or so, with a few days in between each fic  
update, so you readers aren't swamped. ^__^ *whew* Long, long  
reply to a long, long review...Have fun reading! ^___^  
  
On with the story! ^___^  
  
***  
  
Quatre watched his green-eyed lover uneasily as they drove out  
of the clinic's parking lot. Even though Trowa appeared no  
different than normal on the outside, he could feel anger  
beginning to churn from inside him.  
  
He knew he hadn't wanted to believe Wufei the day before, that  
he wanted to think the Asian had simply been overreacting to the  
situation. But when he had witnessed for himself the seriousness  
of Duo's condition, Trowa realized that -he- was the one  
mistaken, not Wufei.  
  
Quatre could almost hear the thoughts running through his  
lover's head:  
  
At least he wasn't the only one mistaken. He was going to call  
him and let him know exactly how much of a coward he was for  
leaving so soon.  
  
Focusing his attention back to the road, Quatre pointed out a  
pizza place. "Let's go in there."  
  
A few minutes later, as Trowa pulled back out onto the road, he  
asked calmly, "They have vid-phones in the institute, right?"  
  
"I should say so. Wufei called Sally yesterday."  
  
"Good." The blonde glanced over at him, but the unibanged teen  
only smiled slightly and didn't divulge into detail.  
  
They reentered the building and Trowa walked over to the  
receptionist to find out where the phones were as Quatre  
continued on to Duo's room alone with the food. Wufei's voice  
filtered through as he opened the door silently.  
  
"...you aren't at fault here, we are. If I'm 'pissed off' with  
anyone, it is myself and the others, not you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, really."  
  
Standing in the threshold, all Quatre could see was Wufei knelt  
beside Duo with his hand on his shoulder and his back to the  
door, but the Arabian didn't need to see the smile he knew was  
there by the gentle tone in the Asian's voice. He had never  
heard him sound so gentle before, not in all the time they had  
spent together during, or after, the wars, it was almost like he  
was a different person.  
  
Quatre cleared his throat lightly as he shut the door,  
announcing his presence. "Trowa should be along in a minute, he  
had to use to phone for Allah knows what," he smiled brightly as  
Duo's grin widened more and Wufei hastily retreated back to his  
seat at the end of the bed. Balancing the box in one hand, he  
picked up the chair against the wall that Doctor Woods had used  
and set it in between the two. "Anyone in the mood for pizza?"  
  
"You're trying to spoil me, aren't you?" Duo mock grimaced.  
  
"Naturally. The sooner we can get you out of here, the better,"  
Quatre replied. "Even if it means pizza and ice cream every day  
for a week. Ice cream cures everything, judging by the ungodly  
amount my sisters consume on a regular basis."  
  
"I knew there was a reason why I loved you so much, Q-man."  
  
"Now you're pushing your luck Duo," Wufei admonished, smirking.  
  
The blonde sat observing them as Duo laughed and cajoled the  
wary Chinese Preventer into eating some of the greasy pizza with  
him, he obliged even when he obviously considered it disgusting.  
Not once since his first visit with the longhaired teen had  
Wufei referred to him as 'Maxwell' or any other name, it was  
'Duo'. Quatre was beginning to understand what the psychiatrist  
had been talking about, when he encouraged their visits, while  
Wufei was tentatively showing another side of himself to Duo, he  
too was changing dramatically over the course of time the longer  
they were around him. He was becoming more and more like the old  
Shinigami they knew best, if not a slightly subdued version at  
any rate, but it was better than nothing.  
  
The door opened again and Trowa entered with a barely  
perceptible satisfied look on his face as he walked over and  
leaned his folded arms onto the back of Quatre's chair. "It  
seems I missed out on all the fun," he remarked, regarding  
Wufei's queasy expression in amusement.  
  
"I don't know how someone can possibly eat that stuff," he  
groaned. "Duo coerced me into having a piece. I think I'll stick  
to the Chinese take-out Sally brings in to the office."  
  
"Food is food, as long as you're getting something in your  
stomach, you shouldn't complain," Duo said, adopting the same  
admonishing tone Wufei had used earlier. "Trust me, I know from  
experience."  
  
Wufei hesitated, not sure how to respond to his offhanded  
allusion. He had not forgotten when Quatre had spoken of being  
an orphan on L2 before becoming a Gundam pilot to Doctor Woods.  
But he didn't seem to notice the uncertainty, or if he did he  
ignored it, as he picked up another slice and waved in front of  
his face.  
  
"You know you want it..." Duo grinned impishly. "C'mon, chill  
out and be a teenager for once! One more won't hurt. Besides, I  
don't want to be sitting here looking like a pig, so someone's  
gotta eat with me."  
  
He eyed it uneasily. "What about Winner and Barton? I'm sure  
-they- wouldn't mind."  
  
"Oh no, we couldn't possibly, we had so much at breakfast this  
morning, didn't we Trowa?" Quatre replied slyly, tilting his  
head back and gazing up at his unibanged lover with a smile. He  
nodded in agreement.  
  
Wufei snorted derisively. "I'm sure you did."  
  
"Ha! See, now you don't have any scapegoats!" Duo crowed  
triumphantly.  
  
"You're trying to kill me aren't you?" he grumbled, taking the  
pizza and biting into it begrudgingly.  
  
***  
  
Heero entered his hotel room and immediately noticed the  
blinking window on his laptop screen on the coffee table. He sat  
down and opened the mail; his blank expression going puzzled as  
he read the subject as it downloaded. "'03'? What is Trowa  
contacting me for?"  
  
The ex HeavyArms pilot's face flashed onto the screen, his one  
visible blazing jade eye the only hint of his masked irritation.  
'Yuy. I should hope that Relena's conference is over soon  
because your presence is wished for in the wake of your  
-comrade's- current situation. Quatre, Wufei, and I have decided  
to stay and help our -friend- to the best of our abilities until  
Duo is discharged, no matter what. But if you intend to continue  
on protecting the Vice Foreign Minister from nonexistent threat  
during her conference instead of consoling a -friend- in his  
time of need, then by all means don't let us stop you. Barton  
out.'  
  
Heero was stung by calmly administered furious words. Yes, Wufei  
hadn't entirely dropped the use of calling them by last names  
out of his cultural custom, but Trowa and himself had tried to  
abandon the military protocol after the wars, and to be  
addressed like that after so long threw him off guard. Let alone  
the fact that he had never seen or heard the quiet teen ever be  
so angry in all the time he had known him. On top of that, he  
was quite frankly blown away by the message.  
  
'Your -comrade's- current situation...help our -friend-  
...nonexistent threat...consoling a -friend- in his time of  
need...'  
  
He was right. He had run off when one of his best friends needed  
him the most just to sit around in an empty balcony to watch out  
for nonexistent threats.  
  
"Heero? Are you in here? You ran off so quickly after the  
preliminary meeting I hardly got a chance to say 'hi' to you..."  
Relena trailed off as she walked into his room, watching the  
Japanese teen pack his duffel bag on the couch. "Where are you  
going? The conference does end for a few more days."  
  
She would understand. "I left a very important mission  
uncompleted. I'm returning to Earth again to remedy my mistake,"  
Heero replied shortly, picking up his bag and tucking his room  
key into the pocket of his faded blue jeans.  
  
"Incomplete mission? That's not like you Heero Yuy," Relena  
smiled. "Go on then, I don't want to get in your way if you've  
got something important to do. I have Dorothy here with me, I'm  
sure she can keep me company until you get back."  
  
Heero nodded briefly and left her in the hotel room, his focus  
set on getting the next flight out to Earth.  
  
***  
  
As the day wore on, the four ex-soldiers talked in relative  
ease, with only a brief interruption by the psychiatrist on his  
routinely check-in on Duo (he was offered the last of the then-  
cold pizza, but he politely declined after glimpsing Wufei's  
slightly green face), but were otherwise left to their own  
accord.  
  
Quatre chatted about the business and how his sisters and the  
Maganacs were fairing, his mentioning of all of those who had  
gotten married prompting the former Deathscythe pilot to prod  
about his relationship with Trowa, which got the blonde  
flustered as his partner only smiled indulgently in response.  
Wufei had nothing but praise for the Preventers, though not  
without muttering about 'baka onnas' named Sally Po and the  
schemes she and Noin concoct to torment him and Zechs with, and  
his part in rebuilding his home colony A0206 in the L5 cluster.  
  
"It may not be the same as it was before, but it's the least I  
can do for the Long clan," Wufei said solemnly. "They had some  
distant relations still living in China that hadn't been exiled  
with them to the colony, so I extended an invitation to them to  
settle on it, and anyone else who also wishes to, of course."  
  
"Always knew there was softer side to you, Fei," commended Duo  
admirably. "I take it that they were your family, eh?"  
  
"Uh-" he went red and roughly cleared his throat, casting around  
through his thoughts for something to say. "Well, not exactly  
-my- family...They gave me Nataku."  
  
"But didn't Master O-"  
  
"The person Nataku, not my Gundam, was the heiress of the Long  
clan, but it wasn't traditionally suitable for a woman to hold  
such a position of power so I was married to her against both of  
our wills. She died defending Shenlong a short while later when  
the wars started and so her spirit lived in it, giving it  
strength to fight for justice. I didn't consider myself worthy  
of piloting Nataku for the longest time, that her sacrifice was  
for nothing because I had no sense of justice," Wufei explained  
cautiously, feeling extremely self-conscious and vulnerable as  
he spoke. He had never really gone into detail about his past to  
anyone before, but the words just seemed to tumble out in answer  
to Duo's innocent inquiry. "So if I can try to rebuild our home  
and restore what little is left of the clan, then I can breathe  
freely for once, knowing that I've returned the honor to  
Meilan's family."  
  
"You've more than paid your debt Wufei, we all have," Quatre  
frowned. "Though I shouldn't talk, now should I..." He trailed  
off thoughtfully, 'I took on my father's enterprise for the same  
reasons, so that my father and Iria didn't die in vain.' Trowa  
was the only one he had ever admitted that to, though he had  
felt it was his obligation to, considering that it had been his  
grief that led him to use the Zero system against the colonies  
and nearly killing his lover in his temporary madness.  
  
Almost as if on cue to the blonde's thought, Trowa's arms came  
reassuringly around his shoulders in a warm hug. "Our time's  
almost up, I expect the good doctor will be in here within the  
next few minutes to hustle us out. Besides, I have a feeling  
that Heero will be showing up at our doorstep tonight."  
  
"Heero? Where is the sneaky bastard anyway?" Duo asked  
curiously.  
  
"That would be who you called earlier, right?" Wufei smirked,  
inwardly relieved at the immense lightening of their  
conversation.  
  
"Yes," his eyes flared darkly, though his voice remained calm.  
"I left him a nice little message since he seems preoccupied  
with being Relena's personal bodyguard."  
  
"Ah...Well then, you two head back to the hotel to greet him,  
I'll sit here and wait until our 'good doctor' kicks me out."  
  
Quatre's brow furrowed in concern. "Are you sure Wufei?"  
  
"Somebody's going to have to keep the Unibang under control,"  
Duo grinned at the tall teen. "He looks like he wants to beat  
the living shit out of Heero."  
  
"Oh now I don't know about -that- Duo, maybe a friendly punch,  
but not the living shit," Trowa replied amusedly.  
  
"You better check for throwing knives now."  
  
Trowa looked mildly affronted, but smiled slightly nonetheless  
at them. "Honestly, I think my message was punishment enough,  
there's no need for any more."  
  
"We'll see you back at the hotel then Wufei," Quatre got up from  
his chair and embraced Duo firmly. "And we'll see you first  
thing tomorrow morning, and if you get some sleep, I'll pilfer  
some ice cream from room service to bring, all right?"  
  
"Are you attempting to blackmail me?" Duo narrowed his eyes  
suspiciously as the Arabian stood up.  
  
"If that's what I have to do to get you healthy again, then yes,  
I'm blackmailing you."  
  
He chuckled appreciatively. "That's my Q-man." He waved at the  
couple as they left, beaming cheerfully. "They're so adorable,  
don't you agree Fei? I knew they were going to together  
eventually."  
  
"Did you now?"  
  
"Of course! They were so obviously smitten with each other  
during the wars, I can't believe it took them this long!" he  
grinned again. "I think we're the only single ones out of the  
group, ne? Quatre and Trowa, Heero and Relena, Noin and  
Zechs...Unless you're closer to Sally then you let on." Duo  
winked slyly.  
  
"No," Wufei shook his head. "I'll allow that she is an admirable  
doctor and a very good soldier for a woman, but we're only  
friends and it won't go any further than that. I'm fine just as  
I am for the moment."  
  
"Mhmm..." He looked at the Asian appraisingly. "So what about  
the wife you were talking about earlier?"  
  
Wufei paused, turning his gaze down to his hands in his lap.  
"No, I respected Meilan, but our marriage was forced onto us by  
tradition. Maybe if I had been able to spend more time with  
her..." He shook his head again vigorously. "Done is done, it's  
useless to contemplate 'what if's. I'm content with how I am  
now, though if I were to get romantically involved with someone,  
I wouldn't fight it. I can at least learn from my past  
mistakes."  
  
Duo stretched out languidly on the bed, pulling the pillow into  
his arms and burrowing into it. "If I ever get out of here, then  
we'll go out and find someone together, how's that sound? So we  
won't be the only bachelors hanging around."  
  
"That sounds- wait," Wufei sat up straight and frowned. "What do  
you mean by 'if'? You -are- going to get out of here, even if I  
have to break in here in the middle of the night and take you  
myself." He got up from the end of the bed and took Quatre's  
chair, staring Duo straight in the eye. "Do you understand what  
I'm saying? I will not have you ever doubting that you'll be  
released, where is my optimistic Duo Maxwell? You -will- be, and  
we -will- go out to where ever you want to go to try and rid  
ourselves of our bachelorhood. Got it?"  
  
"Yes, Commander! I hear you loud and clear," Duo stuck his face  
into the pillow to muffle his snickering.  
  
"That's better," Wufei smiled smugly, then the meaning of  
exactly what he had said sunk in and he paled. "Oh gods..."  
  
"I'm going to take that as a promise, so don't you dare try to  
back out of it," he threatened mischievously, bringing his face  
back up.  
  
"First pizza and now dating...how do I get myself into these  
messes?"  
  
"Because you'd do anything for your best friend with enough  
persuasion," Duo winked.  
  
"You tricked me...You got me all riled up so that I let myself  
get backed into a corner," Wufei scowled, folding his arms  
across his chest indignantly.  
  
He chuckled and rolled over onto his stomach, his chestnut hair  
fanning out around his body like a blanket. Duo suddenly  
appeared childish again as he glanced over at the Chinese teen.  
"Fei...will you stay in here 'til I fall asleep?" he asked  
timidly. "It's harder when I'm by myself...'cause I don't have  
anything to distract me from...well, you know...-them-." His  
voice held a fearful tone as he turned his eyes away shamefully.  
  
"Of course I will, if that's what you want," Wufei pulled the  
chair as close to the bed as possible and laid his crossed arms  
on the edge, resting his chin on them.  
  
"Thank you Wufei."  
  
A tired smile graced his features as he sat there in the  
comfortable silence, and he didn't remember who fell asleep  
first, Duo or himself.  
  
***  
  
*purrs* A lovely suggestion by my lovely Shella-chan. ^_^ I do  
hope that this makes up for the horror I'm putting Wufei through  
in 'Fatal Asphyxiation'! *shifty eyes*  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Just remember that flames will only be  
used to roast the author's marshmallows...SMORES! ^___^ 


	10. Chapter 10

I do believe this is going to be the last Duo POV chapter...but  
I haven't made this decision final, so you never know. (Hint:  
Read the AN at the end of the chapter) Since Duo seems to be  
getting better, there really isn't a need for an insane  
perspective, ne? ^_^;  
  
Anywho, I apologize for lateness, for both this chapter and the  
new chapter for 'Fatal', like I mentioned in the last ones, I've  
been busy with summer work for school, and I've got a temporary  
weekend/whenever job with a friend of my mom's. I'm helping her  
redo the interior of the house she recently bought, which means  
tearing out old flooring, carpeting, built-in shelves, and trim  
and put in new tile and repainting. ^_^ DVG is getting money!  
She will no longer be broke! *big grin* But yes, I'll try and  
get out chapters as normally as usual. If that makes any sense.  
*sweatdrop*  
  
Anywho, reviews! ^_^  
  
Nelia: *is glomped* Yeah, I liked having Trowa get a mean streak  
and bitch at Heero. ^_^ I couldn't help my self with the pizza  
scene, it was just too adorable to pass up, and who in their  
right minds can resist the kawaii Duo-chan? ^__^ Though I would  
call myself a -great- writer, I'd be glad to read your story and  
tell you what I think. ^_~  
  
Dark Ice: Lol, yes, Wufei was a bit slow, but you can't blame  
him, ya know? Wouldn't you not think twice about something if it  
got your best buddy to cheer up? See, Wufei had been, in his own  
odd way, reassuring Duo that he would get out of the mental  
institution no matter what, so he wasn't thinking about what he  
said. *nod* But anywho, read and enjoy! ^_^  
  
Satans Little Toy: Naturally, this is a 2x5. It's the best  
pairing, in my opinion. *nod* Of course, I'm partial to anything  
yaoi and yuri...so yeah. ^_^;; And as for a sequel to 'Blood  
Lust'...I have to get my current stories out of the way first,  
because if I do a sequel, it's going to end up being massive  
like 'Blood Lust'. I've actually been toying with the idea,  
because so many reviewers asked for a sequel, it's only getting  
a feasible plot that won't turn ridiculous. I was thinking of  
having a vengeful Noin bring in Dorothy, since I didn't use her  
in 'Blood Lust', and have Dorothy bring back Relena, considering  
how much I loathe writing heterosexual pairings, but I'm not too  
sure about Zechs and Treize. Maybe, but I'm not sure. But I'm  
glad you enjoy reading my stories! ^_^ I try my hardest, and a  
story is nothing but words is there isn't depth and emotion  
pouring out of every sentence. *nod* I love description, getting  
into the characters' heads and bringing out different views of  
their personalities and using those views to my advantage. ^_^  
Wufei has been one of my best characters to toy with, and in  
'Blood Lust' I think I did my best work with his depth. Cause  
you know he's can't just be only about Justice. *winks* Anywho,  
read and enjoy! ^_~  
  
Sawdust Monster: There will be plenty more Wufei/Duo moments  
where that came from. ^_^  
  
LadyDragonWolfKnight: Glad you're enjoying! ^_^  
  
LittleShadow: Well, I'm glad you think this story is good! I  
don't know any Dutch, so I wouldn't be able to tell you the  
English translation to 'meeslepend'. ^_^; But I do understand  
what you mean about psychological disorders and authors who  
don't know what they're talking about. I made sure to research  
schizophrenia and manic depression extensively before even  
beginning to write this fic. I also took Psychology in school,  
so I had all my notes and discussion recordings to look into.  
When I write about something as serious as mental disorders, I  
make sure I know what I'm talking about. I have three friends  
who are bipolar and ADHD, and one who really does suffer from  
manic depression, so I also have personal experience to draw  
from when I write. But yes, anyways, I'm glad you're enjoying  
this story, and I'll try and get the next chapter out as fast as  
I can. ^_~  
  
KitsuneDewAddict: Sugoi, I've corrupted the masses! *cough* I  
mean, I made you like 2x5? ^_^;;; I'm not quite sure about  
Heero's reaction, but I do know it'll be a nice shock to his  
system, that's for sure. *nod* But for now, here's a nice peek  
into Duo's mind. ^_^  
  
Sen: I do believe Trowa did the bashing for me. ^_^ But don't  
worry, Wufei will have his say too, and Heero will get his full  
comeuppance when he gets to see Duo. *nod*  
  
That should be all of the reviews...So...On with the show, ne?  
^___^  
  
***  
  
I've come to one conclusion.  
  
I'm either crazier than I thought I was, or everyone else is  
just as crazy as I am so I seem perfectly sane and normal.  
  
Today I felt more like myself then I have in a long, long time.  
Maybe too long.  
  
It was as if the past six months had never happened, we were all  
just sitting around in a safe house during a lull in the battles  
and being ourselves. Heedless to the fact that we were  
surrounded by padded walls in a mental institution, of course.  
Speaking of which, I've really got to thank Quatre for smuggling  
in that pizza, I'd forgotten how hungry I was.  
  
Yeah, that's right, I -forgot-. If there's one habit I've never  
lost over the years, it's that when you're living out on the  
streets, you've got to learn how to ignore the hunger that  
continually aches in your stomach. You never know when you'll  
get food out there. I'd love to see Solo's reaction to Quatre's  
persuasion of ice cream if I got to sleep tonight, even if I  
didn't, he's still going to bring it anyway. It's a good thing  
to have friends like that, who'll take care of you when you need  
it without thinking twice about it. Solo would have a heart  
attack at the sight of me being spoiled rotten and loving every  
minute of it.  
  
The two of us worked so hard to make sure the younger kids got  
something that we never took care of ourselves, though why he  
had to die instead of me because that same noble selflessness  
had left him vulnerable to the virus plague is beyond me. If I  
had only run faster with the vaccine, I could have saved him...  
  
...And if I hadn't let myself get taken in by the church with  
other kids, I could have joined him.  
  
Not that I have anything against Father Maxwell and Sister  
Helen. They helped me save the rest of the orphans when I  
couldn't handle it by myself anymore. Or rather, took us in  
after I got desperate enough to try to raid the Alliance's food  
stores and got caught. I would never in a million years dare  
utter a bad word against them; despite my gratitude for them  
being that I got them killed too.  
  
What can you say to justify that? Death follows me everywhere,  
why do you think I call myself Shinigami? Certainly not because  
it sounds cool.  
  
Because it's the truth.  
  
Before descending to Earth in Deathscythe, I told G that being  
the God of Death sounded a lot better than being the hero of a  
massacre, but honestly, they're one and the same when you look  
at it. I turned right around from killing the ones I cared about  
to killing anonymous soldiers for 'peace'.  
  
Sure, they were the enemy. My targets.  
  
Not once did I ever wonder if they had a family, a wife or a  
husband, some kids, parents.  
  
Oh no, I had to remain focused on my mission.  
  
Maybe that's why the voices came to torment me when the wars  
were over. I didn't have anything left to destroy except for  
myself. And I'll be damned before I ever tried to lay a finger  
on any of the other Gundam pilots.  
  
Funny, now that I think about it...  
  
I've been reliving all these memories in my mind and the voices  
haven't said a single thing the entire time. I was so afraid  
that they would come back after the guys left to go back to  
their hotel room and I was alone...  
  
No, Wufei's still here by my bed. Why hasn't he left yet?  
  
He's asleep! HA! Wufei fell asleep while waiting for me to!  
  
I didn't realize that he'd actually -stay- when I asked him,  
maybe sit there for a few minutes then go, but he's been there  
in that chair the whole time I've been wandering off in my  
thoughts!  
  
Looks like he's finally gotten over the pizza too, his face  
isn't the lovely shade of green like it was earlier...  
  
I don't know how I'm ever gonna repay Wufei for being so good to  
me. He didn't have to come here, and, by what Quatre said, argue  
with the Doc about being able to visit with me. He didn't have  
to stay and promise to be here until I get released, or be so  
nice and so...un-Wufei-ish.  
  
He didn't have to come here and make the voices go away.  
  
I think I was truly more afraid of him and guys rejecting me for  
all this mess than I was of even those stupid voices. We've gone  
through so much together, especially the times like in the cell  
block with Wufei when they cut off the air supply or when I  
discovered Trowa with amnesia after Quatre had almost killed  
him...It would've been the end of this Shinigami for sure if  
they had wanted nothing to do with me. But everything they've  
done so far has been the exact opposite of what I had feared,  
and Wufei definitely not the least.  
  
And when Heero comes tomorrow, it'll be exactly like the good  
old days, just the five of us together by ourselves without a  
care in the world... Well, except for maybe Quatre laying into  
me if I don't get any sleep, and sleep sounds like a pretty nice  
idea judging by the beautiful, peaceful expression on Wufei's  
face...  
  
I hope we don't get in trouble for him staying the night in  
here...  
  
***  
  
Kawaii! ^__^ So now, how should I play Heero's first meeting  
with Duo? Should I make him be the same as with the other guys  
or shall our Duo-chan have a bad reaction to something he says  
and reverts back to the crazy Duo? Decisions, decisions...  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Whichever suits... 


	11. Chapter 11

Here's the new chapter to 'Imaginary'!  
  
About time, eh? ^_^;;;  
  
It took me a while to get this finished, but finished it is! I  
apologize for the lateness, but you've all heard my spiel of  
excuses already, so there's no need to repeat them, and I get  
right into reviews!  
  
Meanne77: ^_^;; Unfortunately, there is no crazy Duo, I decided  
against him having a bad reaction to Heero, though I -do- have  
some fun with Wufei. ^_^  
  
Muchacha: Yes, this story is going to turn out to be eventually  
romantic 2x5 and I've already given insinuations to 3x4 and  
maybe a touch of 1+R...but that's only a maybe. It's kinda open  
to whatever the reader thinks it is. *shrug* But I'm glad you  
like it so far! ^_^  
  
LadyDragonWolfKnight: Well, you've got it for now, I don't make  
Duo crazy. ^_^ In fact, he's the sanest yet in this story.  
*grin*  
  
Nelia: Yes...Wufei may have survived the pizza, but he cannot  
fight the power of embarrassment! Buwaha! ^__^;; You'll know  
what I'm talking about after this chapter...But yes, I just  
couldn't help myself, I had to put that adorable little sleeping  
thing in there, to alleviate the angsty-ness. ^_^ And  
unfortunately, as I told Meanne, I decided to not make Duo  
crazy. But Heero does get his just reprimanding by the other  
pilots, and that doesn't count what Wufei has in store for him.  
*grin*  
  
Stormy9: ^_^;; Duo stays sane and Heero's castration- er-  
*cough* castigation in this chapter. ^_^;;; Sorry it took so  
long, hopefully now that things have straightened out some, I'll  
be able to update more frequently again.  
  
BlueMoonDuchess: Aw...*blush* Well I'm very glad you're enjoying  
my insane musings. ^_^;; Luckily, the only real flaming I've  
gotten is gripes about chapter length and the length of my  
author notes at the beginning, but I must give credit where it's  
due and feel inclined to reply to all my reviewers before the  
chapter. *nod* Letting my readers know they're appreciated is  
one of my top priorities. ^__^ Hopefully you'll enjoy this  
chapter as much as the rest!  
  
MarieG: I'm sorry it's taken so long to update! Normally, I  
update every week, but things have been so hectic the past  
couple of weeks with school work and school starting, that I've  
not been able to get any writing done until just recently. But  
now that everything's settled in, I should be getting updates  
out regularly again! ^__^  
  
KitsuneDewAddict: ^__^ There's mutual affection on both sides of  
the spectrum. *grin* And I don't make Duo crazy, though Wufei  
-will- be giving Heero a good piece of his mind when he can.  
^__^ I think that'll be next chapter...  
  
Dark Ice: Nope, I'm not putting all of Wufei, Quatre, and  
Trowa's hard work to waste. ^__^ And Heero will get quite the  
bashing, it begins in this chapter, and Wufei will finish it  
next chapter I believe. ^___^ So read and enjoy!  
  
Sawdust Monster: Thankies, and here's the next chapter! ^___^  
  
LittleShadow: I thank you for all your encouraging reviews to  
update this story! ^_^;; I apologize for the lateness, but  
school ya know, it's a bitch, and I've just begun to have time  
to write my fics. *sigh* Hopefully now that everything's  
beginning to settle, I'll be able to update more frequently. But  
I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and I'm sorry to keep you  
waiting!!  
  
Hilde-babe: No more crazy Duo. At least for now anyways. ^_^;;  
I'm glad you like my story so far!  
  
Canyon1: Heh, yes well I thought about it and decided to keep  
Duo, and myself, sane. There will be Heero bashing, but no crazy  
Duo, because I know if I had gone with it, then this story would  
end up spanning like 30 chapters, and I'm not planning on having  
this story -that- long. O.o;;;  
  
Kaze16: ^_^ Don't worry, I'm not making Duo crazy again. As for  
Heero, he's going to be slightly bashed for being an ass. *nod*  
And as for Wufei...mreh, well, you'll just have to see, eh? ^__^  
  
Seraphina DW: I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I  
apologize if you find the AN distracting, but I feel like I owe  
all my reviewers the respect they deserve by letting them know  
that their responses are read and appreciated. *nod* But yes,  
I'll try making the chapters longer, like I know this one is a  
good bit longer than the others to make up for the long delay in  
posting, but I'll try to keep them longer. And there will be no  
crazy Duo reverting. I've made up my mind that he's had enough  
torment and deserves to be happy with Wufei. ^__^ Wufei living  
up to his promises is going to be quite entertaining...  
  
Tai Kawei: *ish glomped* ^__^;;; Well, I'm certainly happy that  
you're enjoying the story!  
  
Danelle: *ish glomped again* I'm glad you love my insane  
musings! ^_^;; And to show so much dedication to the fic.I feel  
quite honored. Unfortunately, there won't be a bad reaction, but  
Heero -will- be bashed. ^___^ So read and enjoy! *wink*  
  
And now the moment you've all been waiting for...chapter 11!  
^___^;;;  
  
***  
  
Shaking. Someone was shaking him...  
  
Wufei muttered a few dark obscenities under his breath as he  
opened his eyes and was met with another pair of bright violet  
ones staring back at him.  
  
'Wait, violet?'  
  
His sleep befuddled mind finally processed that piece of  
information and he shot up, wincing as the stiff muscles in his  
back screamed in protest at the sudden movement.  
  
"About damn time! I've been sitting here for ten minutes trying  
to get you up," Duo grumbled good-naturedly. "You're worse than  
I am."  
  
Working the painful stiffness out of his back, Wufei looked  
around the room. Sunlight was streaming in through the barred  
window. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked, utterly  
perplexed.  
  
"All last night and this morning...so...twelve hours, if not  
more."  
  
Wufei rubbed his face roughly; glaring as a few raven strands  
fell loose from his ponytail. "And they didn't come in and kick  
me out?"  
  
"You're here aren't you?" Duo smirked.  
  
"Well, yes, I suppose I am," he sighed as he pulled out his tie  
and began comb the rogue tendrils back into place. As if on cue,  
the door to Duo's room opened and Quatre's head appeared with a  
worried frown that was quickly replaced by a smile as Wufei's  
hands faltered, letting his feathery hair slip through his  
fingers.  
  
"Good, you're still here," the blonde said, relieved.  
  
"I'm sorry Quatre, I didn't mean to trouble you, I just fell  
asleep beside the bed on accident," Wufei apologized hastily.  
  
"It's all right, I should've called when you didn't come back,"  
he replied lightly. "Trowa and Heero should be here soon too."  
  
"Heero's still in one piece then, eh?" Duo grinned, taking his  
gaze from the Asian, disappointed when he resumed in retying his  
ponytail, and looking over at Quatre.  
  
He smiled again. "Yes, I don't know what Trowa said to him in  
his message, but Heero was waiting in our hotel room when we got  
back from visiting you, so your guess is as good as mine."  
  
"I could take a good guess," Wufei scowled. "Being here is much  
more of a priority at the moment."  
  
"Aww...I didn't know you cared so much, 'Fei," Duo said sweetly,  
his grin broadening. "You missed out on the fun, Q-man, Wufei  
promised that we're gonna go out together when I get released."  
  
"Really now?"  
  
"Yes, I walked right into that trap," Wufei snorted, not  
noticing Quatre's amused, if not suggestive, expression.  
  
"You two are going to go out -together-?" he repeated  
expressively.  
  
"Yep, where ever I want to go," Duo remarked slyly, catching on  
to the Arabian's train of thought.  
  
"Well, why don't we make it a group thing? I'm sure Trowa would  
enjoy a night on the town, it's been a while since we've been  
out, we could make it a double date sort of idea," Quatre said  
brightly, his cerulean eyes gleaming with mirth.  
  
Wufei started to nod in agreement, "That would be nice- wait-  
WHAT?"  
  
"You heard the Q-man," Duo snickered.  
  
He spluttered indignantly then promptly dropped his head onto  
the bed with a groan and put his arms over it in defeat.  
  
They laughed as Trowa and an extremely cautious Heero walked in,  
surveying the scene with interest. "What's wrong with Wufei?"  
Trowa asked mildly, raising an eyebrow at the prone Chinese  
Preventer.  
  
"They're plotting against me, that's what wrong with me!"  
Wufei's muffled voice answered from the bed, receiving more  
chuckles from Duo and Quatre.  
  
"Duo was only telling me how he agreed to go out with him after  
he gets released," Quatre explained innocently. "So I offered to  
make it a double date with us."  
  
"I see..."  
  
"It's not like that!"  
  
"I'm sure it isn't Wufei," Trowa replied, his tone clearly  
disbelieving.  
  
Wufei shook his head resignedly. "I give up."  
  
"Give up?" Heero repeated dubiously. "Since when do you give  
up?"  
  
"When I know I'm fighting a losing battle," he eased up and  
smiled. "What's the use when you have three against one?  
Besides, it's a date, not a war."  
  
"So what you're saying is that you -want- to go out on a double  
date with us," Quatre indicated amusedly.  
  
"Well, it's better that then making a fool of myself," Wufei  
shrugged nonchalantly. "I am ignorant in the ways of women."  
  
"Like we've never noticed..." Duo coughed delicately, grinning  
as the Asian narrowed his onyx eyes at him. "What? It's true! So  
don't look at me like that, 'cause you know it."  
  
"Don't we all," Trowa smirked.  
  
Wufei glowered at the three of them as they snickered, Heero  
wisely keeping a neutral expression and staying silent.  
  
"See? I told you, they're all against me," he huffed at the  
Japanese ex-pilot.  
  
"Aw, now don't be mad, 'Fei," Duo said cheerfully, getting up  
from the bed and throwing his arms around him. "You know we only  
pick on you 'cause we love you, right guys?"  
  
"Of course," Quatre smiled brilliantly.  
  
For some inexplicable reason, heat rose into his cheeks and  
Wufei's words wavered on his tongue as Duo hugged him playfully  
and he was almost disappointed when he pulled away.  
  
"You okay? You feel kinda warm," Duo asked with concern, making  
him flush even more as he put his hands on the sides of his  
face.  
  
"I- I'm perfectly fine," Wufei managed to get out at last,  
mentally cursing himself for his stammer.  
Trowa, curious, stepped over beside the chestnut haired teen to  
see what was wrong. "Wufei...Are you -blushing-?"  
  
With Duo firmly holding his face, there was no possible way to  
hide the now fully obvious crimson glow spread from ear to ear  
as Wufei endured another bout of laughter at his expense.  
  
"If you're quite -through- with amusing yourselves, could I at  
least have -some- of my dignity back unscathed?" Wufei muttered  
self-consciously, keeping his gaze fixedly on the ceiling.  
  
"What do you think Q?" Duo asked nonchalantly.  
  
"I think we've tortured him enough," the blonde smiled brightly.  
  
"Well then I -suppose-..." he smirked, removing his grasp, but  
not before he managed to give the Chinese teen a playful pat,  
and returning to his seat on the bed. "So Heero, how's our great  
Princess Relena? The guys told me you had to go off to a  
conference with her."  
  
Now it was Heero's turn to be uncomfortable as the buoyant mood  
dimmed considerably between the other three ex-pilots around the  
oblivious Duo.  
  
"Relena is still engaged with the conference at the moment," he  
answered in evident unease. "There was no reason for me to stay,  
so I returned here after I received Trowa's message." Wufei  
snorted derisively at the comment but kept his mouth wisely  
shut, mirroring Trowa's irritated expression as they looked at  
him.  
  
"Hey, at least you're here, eh?" Duo grinned. "It's too bad you  
missed out on all the fun we've had the past coupla days."  
  
Heero shifted slightly, trying to ignore the weight of guilt two  
certain people were laying on him with their stares. "Yes,  
though I guess I'll be hearing all about it soon enough."  
  
'And that won't be the only thing you will be hearing about,'  
Wufei thought darkly as Duo cheerfully launched into a recap of  
the time spent with them to Heero, his obsidian eyes still  
narrowed.  
  
***  
  
w00t, hopefully I'll be able to get chapter 12 out a lot sooner  
than it took to get this chapter out! But for now, I'm off to  
work on 'Sweet Revenge'! ^___^  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Whichever suits... 


	12. Chapter 12 FINALLY!

Hey all! I would really like to thank everyone who's stuck with this fic while it's been on vacation, and for being patient enough to wait for an update! I had had this chapter all set and ready to go this weekend, then my computer crashed and I lost all the new stuff I'd written. *glares* Some Greater Being really doesn't seem to want me to update or something...but yes! So I scrambled the past two days to get everything re-written! o.o;; Also, I'm going to try a kinda different layout suggested by one of my lovely reviewers, so all my review replies and -really- annoying authoress notes will be put at the bottom from now, so you don't have to look all over the place for the start of the chapter! ^__^;  
  
Anywho, no more delay, eh? On with the show!  
  
***  
  
After Duo had divulged in great detail to Heero the past two days, Wufei found himself under the close observation of the Wing pilot's cobalt gaze. His own glower had long been forgotten when Duo and Quatre pulled him back into the conversation, making him put his plans about how he would verbally attack the Perfect Soldier once they were alone on hold. Wufei had the sneaking suspicion that the blonde had done it purposefully.  
  
In an attempt to ignore Heero's scrutiny, Wufei returned his attention to Duo and Quatre's playful argument over him forgetting to bring ice cream. Trowa glanced over at him from his position behind the empath and gave him the same satisfied smirk that he had had after calling Heero, as if knowing the tirade building up in his mind and silently cheering him on to go for it.  
  
'Not in front of Duo though,' Wufei decided before speaking out loud, "Why don't I just end this by going and getting it? Besides, I need a nice strong cup of coffee, and I certainly don't trust whatever they have here," he grimaced. "I want to be able to sleep for the next week, not go into a caffeine fit."  
  
"Are ya sure it's not 'cause you wanna stay and sleep with me again tonight?" Duo grinned slyly.  
  
"Keep it up and I'll bring you back nothing but healthy food instead of supporting Quatre's ploy of spoiling you," Wufei remarked casually as he got up to stretch, mentally congratulating himself as he didn't blush or stutter like before.  
  
"Hey!" he pretended to look affronted, crossing his arms. "You're evil, you know that 'Fei?"  
  
"Of course I am, I learned from the best," Wufei smirked, going to the door and heading out into the hall. Out in the lobby, he came upon Doctor Woods bidding a forlorn woman goodbye at the entrance; his trained eyes reading the regret in the older man's slightly stooped stature.  
  
The psychiatrist's equally trained ears heard his soft footsteps approaching.  
  
"Good afternoon, Mister Chang," Doctor Woods greeted without having to turn around. "Have a nice catnap last night?"  
  
Wufei stopped mid-stride, taken off guard. "I- uh, yes- I sincerely apologize if I caused you any inconveniences about that. Duo had asked me to stay with him until he fell asleep, but I stayed longer then intended..."  
  
"It wasn't an inconvenience," he replied lightly, facing the Chinese Preventer with a smile. "As I told you before, you are a good influence on Mister Maxwell. I've seen immense improvement in his condition since you have begun spending time with him, and I'm sure you all are positively anxious about getting him out of here as soon as possible."  
  
"Naturally," Wufei said amusedly. "In fact, I'm on a life-or-death mission now to retrieve the ice cream Quatre had promised Duo..." His expression clouded over, growing serious. "He won't have to be here much longer, will he? I mean, I know it's hardly been a week, and we've only been here two days, it's just..."  
  
"I understand," Doctor Woods answered reassuringly. "I have another appointment soon, though I dare say that when you complete this 'life-or- death mission' I should be available to accompany you to Mister Maxwell's room to evaluate the situation."  
  
Sighing with suppressed relief, a genuine smile graced Wufei's features. "Thank you, really."  
  
"No, really I should thank you," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I have the distinct impression that receiving an apology -and- gratitude within a five minute time span is more my privilege, you don't seem the type to give them freely."  
  
"Yes, well, I'm trying to work on that particular character flaw," Wufei muttered self-consciously, looking away.  
  
The psychiatrist surveyed him closely. These Gundam pilots were becoming quite the enigmas to him the more he was able to speak to them, one minute they were carefree teenagers, then the next they were ancient, battle- hardened warriors. What was the world coming to?  
  
"And you've certainly gotten a lot accomplished so far in fixing the flaw. Now, if you excuse me, I have some paperwork to take care of before my next appointment, so I will see you later for Mister Maxwell's evaluation."  
  
Watching him walk away, Wufei sighed again and was starting to go through the double doors when a familiar voice came from behind.  
  
"You care about him more than as a close friend, don't you?"  
  
"What are you doing out here Heero?" he replied somewhat stiffly, turning around to the Japanese ex-pilot. "You should still be in the room with Quatre and Trowa."  
  
"I was sent out here to tell you to make sure you get chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream," Heero shrugged indifferently. "And don't act like you didn't hear me. You would have to deaf and blind if you can't perceive how different you are around Duo."  
  
"At least I've been here," Wufei retorted, his temper flaring up. "Unlike -you-, who once he got all the information he wanted, up and left on the first shuttle to the colonies to be with Relena instead of the friend who needed him more!"  
  
"I realized that, and you're right."  
  
"You shouldn't have had to 'realize' it! You shouldn't have left in the first place! What exactly was so threatening to the Vice Foreign Minister that I wouldn't already know about, being a top Preventers' agent, anyway? Nothing."  
  
"As Trowa so blatantly pointed out in his message...I -know- I was mistaken to leave," Heero said flatly, his Prussian gaze narrowly in irritation.  
  
"So now you have it pointed out to you face-to-face, and not in a message," Wufei shot back caustically. "You should never have left, I don't know -what- possessed you to think that everything was perfectly fine, especially not after hearing that recording. What more proof would you have needed? To actually have seen Duo when they had him manacled to the bed like a prisoner in a drugged stupor? Obviously something is wrong with -you- if sitting around doing nothing in a conference is more of a priority than your ill best friend!"  
  
"And you're overreacting to the whole situation for our 'best friend'," he remarked impassively, though a small smirk curled the corners of his lips. "So I believe I'll point this out to -you- again. You care about Duo as more than a close friend, do you not?"  
  
Wufei could only stare stupidly, his angry outburst losing all its steam. "I- I don't know what you're implying, Yuy. Duo's a close friend, that's all."  
  
His smirk became unmistakable. "If you say so Wufei." Heero headed off back towards Duo's room, leaving him in the lobby.  
  
'What the hell is -his- problem?' he thought irritably, fuming as he pulled out of the parking lot. 'What does he mean with 'you care about him more then as a friend'? And I was being completely rational, if I had been overreacting, then Trowa would be too. But he said nothing about Trowa overreacting. He deserved what he got!'  
  
Wufei ignored the skittish cashier woman at the nearby café as she practically threw his change at him. Of course, he also didn't realize that he was sending everything in his way a wicked don't-you-dare-bother-me-or- I'll-kill-you glare while musing over Heero's words.  
  
The answer still hadn't come to him as he drove back to the institution with his 'mission' accomplished (and in spite of Quatre's plans of spoiling, he had gotten some healthy things along with the ice cream). As promised, Doctor Woods was waiting for him in the foyer, taking in the half- full styrofoam coffee cup and grocery bag he was carrying with amusement.  
  
"You look like a husband indulging the hormonal whims of his pregnant wife," he greeted amiably. "Some cold coffee, ice cream, and is that strawberries?"  
  
"I'm not about to let Duo recover on sugar and junk," Wufei replied, grimacing. "He may not be fond of 'rabbit food', but I think I can persuade him."  
  
'Wait...did he just tell me I look like -Duo's- husband?'  
  
He froze suddenly, the meaning of what exactly Heero had said crashing through his mind like a freight train at the thought of the psychiatrist's comment.  
  
And if it were true, what then?  
  
***  
  
*falls over* It wasn't too horrible, was it? o.; It'll get better, I swear, I'm slowly busting out of this wretched writer's block, but it's a painful process on my poor abused mind. I've got the next chapter to 'Sweet Revenge on the way, it's mostly completely, just some touch up stuff, ya know all the fun that goes on after you get the insanity of a chapter written out. o.O;; But yes, to my long neglected reviewers...  
  
I must give out much appreciation to Makoto, Nelia, Duo Lover 1x2, Kurai Kaiba, and Seraphina DW for taking the time to reply to my Apologies and letting me know that people still care about lil' ole me and the poor neglected G-boys that I torture with my fics. ^_^; And I apologise to ya LittleShadow, the fic isn't dead, so please stop crying! *huggle*  
  
And now the part everyone loves...Click! Review! Flame (I know you want to)... 


	13. Chapter 13

Hey all my lovely reviewers! I'm sorry this update took longer than expected, I wasn't able to write over Thanksgiving break, so this chapter is a bit behind. *sigh* And it's about to get even crazier. The next update will be for 'Sweet Revenge', I'm hoping to get it out soon, though it's being worked on along with my research book on Celtic Mythology for Art & Design, studying for midterms, and all that fun stuff. How I'm going to get any sleep whatsoever in the next three weeks is beyond me. *dies* x.x I know I promised faster updates, but school work has slammed into me like a hurricane, so I'm trying to do what I can with all that going out. At least I can look forward to a nice, quiet Christmas holiday after the insanity has died down...(if I don't die first from overload...)  
  
But enough with my complaining, here's the next chapter!  
  
***  
  
Wufei was in quite a state when he and Doctor Woods finally got to Duo's room, the same question repeating through his mind like a broken record.  
  
'And if it was true, what then?'  
  
"About time, we were about to send search parties out for you," Quatre said amusedly, leaning back into Trowa's arms again. The former HeavyArms pilot looked like a cat that had just gotten its cream as he watched Wufei send a sidelong glare in Heero's direction by the window.  
  
"Sorry, it was my fault," the psychiatrist replied as he walked in after the Asian, shutting the door behind him. "We had a little chat on his way out."  
  
"If he's in trouble for staying the night, I'm to blame for that-"  
  
"Don't worry Duo, he wasn't reprimanding me," Wufei reassured, reclaiming his seat beside the chestnut-haired teen on the bed.  
  
"You're not just saying that so I won't get upset, now are you?" Duo asked, narrowing his amethyst eyes slightly.  
  
"Of course I'm not!" he looked spurned at the mere idea of lying to him. "Ask Heero, he was eavesdropping in on our whole conversation." Trowa snorted in a weak attempt to hide his snickering, receiving a playful smack from his Arabian lover.  
  
Heero only shrugged noncommittally. "Must we go through this argument again? You were right, I was wrong, end of story."  
  
"Oh ho, the great Heero Yuy -wrong-?! And I missed it! What happened?" Duo queried eagerly, latching onto Wufei's arm and propping his chin on his shoulder, the melting ice cream and the presence of Doctor Woods momentarily forgotten.  
  
"I- uh- well, it was just a repeat of Trowa's message really," Wufei said uneasily, heat rising into his cheeks.  
  
"Mhmm...that's all, eh?" He was quite uncomfortably aware of the shivers running down his spine as Duo's warm breath tickled his neck.  
  
And of the smirk that had reappeared on Heero's face. Damn arrogant bastard.  
  
"And- and chocolate chip cookie dough-"  
  
Duo started laughing, leaning more onto the Chinese Preventer as he did so and making his blush considerably pronounced. "Wu, I swear, that sounds so funny coming from you," he chuckled appreciatively. "Hearing you -of all people- say chocolate chip cookie dough..." He dissolved into another fit of mirth.  
  
"I'm glad I could make your day," Wufei replied dryly, though making no move to pry him off. "You know, just for that, I'm not going to give it to you since you seem so caught up in entertaining yourself by tormenting me."  
  
"After all the hard effort you went through, you're just going to let it go to waste?" Quatre remarked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
That got Duo to clam up his laughter in record time as he jerked back. "You wouldn't."  
  
"Why not?" Wufei smirked as his eyes went wide in horror. "Oh come on, I am not -that- evil. That's what women are for."  
  
"Yeesh, you had me scared for a minute there..." Duo put a hand dramatically over his chest as if he were about to have a heart attack. "You may not be -that- evil, but you certainly do have a cruel sense of humor."  
  
"Should I be offended by this?" he asked, looking over at Quatre and Trowa. "I'm not evil, yet I have a cruel sense of humor..."  
  
"I think you should be," Trowa said amusedly. "At least you have a sense of humor, unlike some, though cruel as it may be."  
  
"Then the 'aye's have it," Wufei began to get up, but was immediately engulfed by a curtain of soft brown hair as Duo jumped into his lap and pinned him effectively back onto the bed.  
  
"You're not going anywhere, Justice Boy."  
  
Wufei put his hands up in mock defeat, using them to mask his beet red face. "I surrender!" he squirmed under the light weight, trying to ignore the butterflies that fluttered up into his chest at their sudden close proximity.  
  
"Ha! You hear that, Q-bean? A moment to go into history books!" Duo grinned, sidling off from on top of his flustered friend.  
  
"Actually, that would be a second moment," Quatre pointed out calmly. "Because he also gave up earlier this morning when we were teasing him about our double date."  
  
"You're right," his grin broadened, glancing askance over at the Asian.  
  
"To think -you- were accusing -me- of being evil..." Wufei muttered, sitting up on his elbows and sending a scowl at a few rogue tendrils of raven hair as they fell into his eyes.  
  
"You learned from the best," Heero quoted smoothly, earning himself another glare (much less potent when it only looks cute with hair falling into your face) in his direction.  
  
Doctor Woods cleared his throat audibly, steering off another potential argument between the two as he threw Wufei off guard. He had also forgotten the psychiatrist's presence in his jesting with the others. "As...entertaining as this all may be, I have rounds to make, so I must excuse myself for now."  
  
"You sure you don't want any ice cream or- strawberries?" Duo paused in his rifling through the grocery bag, curious.  
  
"No, thank you, I'll pass. Why not tempt Mister Chang there? Since he is the one who got it and all, it's only fair," he smiled before slipping out into the hall.  
  
"Oh no, I've already suffered through your pizza-"  
  
"Aw, c'mon, you heard the doc. It's only fair," he said persuasively. "Besides, you did buy strawberries."  
  
"Yes, for you," Wufei replied. "I figured it would be something you'd eat that's healthy because they're sweet."  
  
"Yeah well...you're not going to let me sit here by myself, are you?"  
  
"That bribery won't work this time."  
  
"Aw, c'mon 'Fei..."  
  
Privately, Quatre and Trowa were sharing the same thoughts as Heero as they watched Wufei fend off Duo's coaxing in vain.  
  
"Seems like I won't be missing the fun of round two," Trowa whispered into the blonde's ear.  
  
***  
  
Round two's subsequent hilarity was interrupted only briefly by a short return of Doctor Woods, requesting fresh samples for another lab test.  
  
"You'd think I was a guinea pig or something," Duo grimaced after he left again. "Really. Poking around with some needles here, 'What does that do?', a little prod there and 'Oh, -that's- what it does'. Only to turn around and do all those same tests again."  
  
Quatre chuckled. "They have to be sure, you know. They can't afford any mistakes, especially if it's crucial," he said reasonably.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, standard protocol and all that crap," he brushed the comment aside with an impatient wave of his hand. "Right, Wu?"  
  
"Hm..."  
  
Duo craned his neck back towards the Chinese teen at the vague reply and nearly melted into a puddle at the sight that met him. Wufei looked absolutely adorable sitting cross-legged on the bed with a strawberry half in his mouth as he blinked at them owlishly, broken out of his deep musing.  
  
An evil grin spread, lighting his whole face up with mischief. "What were you thinking so hard about, eh 'Fei?" Duo asked slyly, sliding back beside him.  
  
"Things."  
  
"That's a nice, broad answer," he replied sarcastically. "What kinda things?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Wufei said tauntingly, nibbling on the strawberry again. Heero unsuccessfully hid a derisive snort with a cough from his corner of the room.  
  
Looking back and forth between the two Asians, Duo raised his eyebrows. "Am I missing something important here?"  
  
"Well he was clearly thinking about you, wasn't he?" Heero replied.  
  
"I see..."  
  
"Actually," Wufei cut in abruptly, shocking himself with his own boldness. "Actually, I was. I was wondering about what we were going to do when those results returned in our favor."  
  
Duo appeared rather uncertain. "D'you really believe they will?" he asked doubtfully.  
  
"Of course I do," he answered confidently, smiling. "I believe wholeheartedly that they will. And if they don't, I'll definitely be making a visit to their lab because it would be their mistake in the misdiagnosis."  
  
"And he wouldn't be the only one," Quatre added firmly, Trowa nodding in agreement.  
  
"Then let's hope so," Duo slowly grinned. "Though it would be an interesting headline in tomorrow's newspapers: 'Preventer's Agent wreaks havoc in Earth mental institution with help from Winner heir and his beau'."  
  
"Who says we'll get caught?" Wufei crossed his arms, pretending to be offended. "Nobody would notice the disappearance of a lab tech or two."  
  
"I'm sure they wouldn't," Heero remarked dryly.  
  
A sharp rap on the door kept Wufei from retorting and the psychiatrist came into the room, his expression dispirited as they all stared at him with bated breath.  
  
"I'm afraid I have bad news..."  
  
***  
  
*dun dun dun* ^_^; I'm sure the last thing you guys wanted to read was a cliffhanger after my speech about delayed updates...*sweatdrop*  
  
Anywho, following the new set up, all my lovely review replies are now down here! ^_^  
  
LittleShadow: ^_^; Thankies! Yesh, I agree, it really is a shame there are so few 2x5x2 fics out there in the Yaoi Universe...*sigh* But that's okay! ^_^ That's what authors like us are for! So we can write more lovely Duo and Wufei stories! *happy dance* Hope ya enjoyed the new chappie!  
  
Makoto Sagara: ^__^ I did it again with the horrible cliffhanger...*hides* Please don't kill meh! But yesh, Heero needed a good smack (even if it -was- Wufei tearing him apart verbally). And Duo and Wufei are just kawaii all the time. ^_^; *huggle* I'm sorry about the long delay, and as I pointed out in the notes, I'm swamped with work, so returning to my ususal weekly updates will be kinda difficult until Christmas holiday. *sigh* I swear, school is gonna kill me one day...Anywho, I hope you liked the new chapter! ^_^;  
  
Allie-Cat: ^_^; It's okay, I feed off my reviewers, so your addiction to my fics is most appreciated! *huggle* But yesh, Wufei is completely clueless when it comes to romance. At least I would think he is, because he certainly had no time during the wars or before to develop any form of romantic notions, considering battle training and being forced to marry Meiran, so I feel justified in making him romantically clueless. Besides...it just makes him even more adorable. ^___^ But I do agree, there's enough on the G-boys to fill quite an extensive collection of psychology books. *nod* Anywho, I hope ya liked the new chapter! The new one will be out as soon as I can get time to sit down and write...o.o;; Damn school.  
  
Seraphina DW: ^_^ Yep, I used your suggestion! *hug* I do think it's better like this, it's not nearly so confusing. ^_^ I didn't mean for Wufei's thoughts and stuff to be so similar to ya I swear...maybe I'm psychic or something. *sweatdrop* Now -there's- a scary thought...But I'm glad you didn't think the chapter was horrible! ^_^  
  
Shella: Meh favorite reviewer! *snuggle*Heh, yeah, I know I wrote Wufei to be pretty clueless, but I figure that he wasn't able to develop romantic notions what being a scholar and training and having his arranged marriage with Meiran, so I wrote him to be a little clueless. ^_^; I think it's kinda cute actually. *sweatdrop* And I'm really sorry about the delay, really I am! Blame Real Life! *glares* Damn school and boyfriends...*snort* But yeah, I'm trying to get back onto my weekly update routine again, which will be a lot easier once Christmas holiday starts and my research books and midterm exams are over with...*dies* School is going to kill me. Anywho, yesh, all the 'justice' crap gets on my nerves too when overdone, and a coherent rant is much more fun to write. ^_^; With the added bonus of sexy, pissed off Wufei...*purr* Though that was the kind of visual I was going for, with Wufei and Heero's little 'talk', the derailed train effect. 'Cause those are two stubborn guys, and with Wufei tearing into Heero like that...yep. But he deserved it. *nod* Little chibis misquoting Confuscious...o.o;; That is the kind of inspiration for nightmares... "Confuscious say: Man that stands on toilet is high on pot." (Don't ask, my friend told me that one once...*sweatdrop*) Anywho, I hope you liked the new chapter! ^_^  
  
Kurai Kaiba: ^_^; Here's your update! I'm glad you like it so much! ^_^ Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous ones...*huggle*  
  
Click! Review! Flame! Whichever suits your fancy... 


	14. Chapter 14

*peers out from her hiding spot warily* Please don't kill me! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update, I haven't had computer access for the past almost 2 weeks, so I had no way to get this posted! Damn holidays and evil relatives...*mutters curses* But here it is! ^_^; And I do believe that 'Imaginary' is coming to its end soon, at least 2 more chapters, maybe 3, but one can never be sure about that sort of thing.  
  
Anywho, all the rest of my jabbering is at the end of the chapter, so enjoy!  
  
***  
  
"I'm afraid I have bad news..."  
  
Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were instantly on their feet and though diminutive in physical stature, the room seemed to fill with their presence as if they were giants.  
  
Doctor Woods broke into a smile at the defiant poses before continuing, "The bad news being, of course, that I have no grounds to hold Mister Maxwell under my jurisdiction any more," he tossed a thick manila folder onto Wufei's vacated seat on the bed as the tension deflated. "The results are negative. Somehow, you managed to do it with sheer willpower alone, because we certainly haven't given you any treatment other than allowing your friends visitation. It's going to be rather dull here now without you all."  
  
Duo was utterly dumbfounded. "That's it? I can just leave? Like right now?"  
  
"Well, you do have to sign the release forms and retrieve your belongings. I'm sure you don't want to go out in public in hospital clothes. But those things aside, then yes, you can leave," he replied amusedly. "And all your records are in that folder, so don't bother with trying to break into my office to get rid of them." The psychiatrist looked pointedly at Heero and Wufei, though the latter was too preoccupied to notice because a certain other longhaired teen was hugging him to death.  
  
Quatre, ever the diplomat, took Doctor Woods' hand warmly. "Thank you so much for everything you've done, you don't know how much this means to us," he paused. "Well, maybe you -do- know, but regardless of how many times a day you must hear that, thank you."  
  
"I think that the fact that we're leaving his institution in one piece is thanks enough," Trowa said phlegmatically, though his eyes gleamed.  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
"It's true though."  
  
"Yes, and the lab technicians should be thanking their God that the results were negative," Wufei added calmly, seeming quite content to let Duo stay wrapped around his torso.  
  
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear the potential threat to my staff," the psychiatrist said blandly.  
  
"Threat? I don't know what you're talking about," he replied innocently.  
  
"C'mon 'Fei, stop playing around so I can get out the hell of here!" Duo grinned, reluctantly detaching himself. "I wanna get a nice, long, hot shower and some clean clothes and lots of food..."  
  
"All right, all right, we'll go," Wufei returned his smile. "We'll see you back at the hotel room, okay Quatre?" He nodded obligingly to Doctor Woods before Duo dragged him out into the corridor.  
  
The woman behind the counter in the main office watched them, obviously in what she thought was in a furtive way but they were fully aware of it, as Duo signed his paperwork and rifled through the box of his things that had been brought in with him.  
  
"Looks like they thoroughly ransacked my apartment and got everything," he remarked, rummaging down a little further. "Uh, Wu? Please tell me you have a spare hair tie at the hotel room, 'cause I'm not finding any in here."  
  
"I'm sure I have one, so don't worry about it," Wufei narrowed his eyes at the nosy attendant, who was no longer trying to conceal her interest, making her go slightly pale as Duo scooped up the box and they walked away.  
  
"Good, my hair's getting on my nerves. I haven't left it unbraided for longer than a day since I was like eight and Sister Helen showed me how to pull it out of my face," his grin dimmed wistfully.  
  
"Sister Helen?"  
  
Duo bit his lower lip. "She was a nun at the church, she was like a mom to me when they took us in from the streets," he adjusted his grip uneasily. "When everyone else got adopted and no one wanted me, her and Father Maxwell took care of me for a while. Until the war came to L2...and the church was destroyed."  
  
"Duo...you don't have to tell me all this," Wufei said gently, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to the parking lot.  
  
"I know that I don't -have- to, it just...-feels- better to finally get some of it off my chest, yanno? And it's easy to talk to you..." Duo suddenly smirked. "Especially when you're not being your usual uptight self."  
  
"And here I thought we were actually having a serious conversation," Wufei replied teasingly, continuing their trek to the rental car.  
  
"Psh. Me? Serious? Surely you jest," he pretended to look offended, tossing his things in the backseat after Wufei had unlocked the door. "Honestly though, it is a lot easier to talk to you. You've been so nice to me and...and when you came into the room the other day, this is going to sound crazy, but when you came in...you made the voices stop. I mean- it's crazy, and I know I'm babbling and all- but, that's what happened and it's why I didn't want you to leave until I went to sleep and I don't even know why I'm saying this because I'm probably freaking you out..." Duo trailed off as Wufei's arms came around him in a gentle embrace, completely throwing him for a loop.  
  
"You're not," he said simply, slowly pulling away. "Now let's head on to the hotel, shall we?"  
  
Duo only nodded in acknowledgment, still dazed by the open display of warmth from the last person he expected it to come from.  
  
***  
  
The other three were already waiting in the room when they arrived, Duo making a beeline straight to bedroom to take a shower as Wufei sat in the living room with Quatre, Trowa, and Heero.  
  
"This is going to be quite the interesting sleeping arrangement tonight," Trowa remarked dryly.  
  
"We'll figure something out, it's not like we haven't had it worse," Quatre shrugged. "Besides, what's more important now is what we're going to do next. I was hoping you all would welcome a stay at our house on L4, since there would definitely be room for everyone."  
  
"When Duo gets out of the shower, he can tell us what he wants," Wufei demurred firmly, rising up from his chair. "That's all I care about."  
  
He walked into his bedroom and was blasted with the overwhelming scent of lavender vanilla. It billowed out in clouds of steam from the half-open door to the adjacent bathroom. The large box Duo's things were in was on its side, its contents spread all over the bed and a good portion of the floor.  
  
Wufei shook his head amusedly, treading carefully over to his overnight suitcase on the dresser to fish out his bag of toiletries and get a spare rubber band. He made his way over to the bathroom and knocked politely. Thankfully the water was still running. "Er- Duo, I'm just going to put the hair tie on the counter for you, okay?"  
  
"Gotcha, my brush should be there too, so just put it there," Duo poked his head around the shower curtain, water falling onto the linoleum as he watched Wufei slip in cautiously, his onyx gaze modestly focused on the sink. He snickered. "Yeesh, don't act like such a prude and be all shy, you're embarrassing me!" Duo joked appreciatively.  
  
Wufei felt his face get even warmer in the steamy room. "It would have been disrespectful of me to just barge in here without warning," he said uneasily, still not looking at him.  
  
"Like you haven't seen a nude person before, honestly," Duo smirked.  
  
"I- well, that's besides the point."  
  
"Mhmm..." He leaned out a little further. "And what is the point?"  
  
"I came in here and gave you your hair tie, now I'm going to leave and give you your privacy," Wufei backed up to the door and started to head out.  
  
"Psh, if you say so 'Fei."  
  
He stopped. "And what else do you think I came in here for?"  
  
"It's beside the point, isn't it? So don't get your feathers ruffled over it," Duo answered slyly. Wufei turned and narrowed his eyes at the dripping wet ex-pilot, who only grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively before retreating behind the shower curtain once more.  
  
***  
  
Wasn't too bad, ne? *sweatdrop* At least I didn't leave it at an awful cliffhanger...which I was tempted to do...  
  
Anywho, I don't have much time to get replies to all the awesome reviews you guys left me, but I'd like you all for reviewing and most especially: Nelia, Makoto Sagara, In Darkness, my lovely Shella-chan (gotta love Confuscious), Rain Tenshi, Little Shadow, Kyoki, Talia Maxwell, Rena Lupin, Hikaru Kosuzaku, severed scythe, Shru, Pixie Smith, and Dark Ice!  
  
I think you all know the drill from here...Feed a starving authoress' ego a bit and leave a review! ^_^; 


	15. Chapter 15

*DVG's voice recording plays as she hides...somewhere* 'Gomen ne minna-san! I know I promised to get this out sooner, and I swear I tried as hard as I could, but Real Life is bent and determined on keeping me from having a normal updating schedule. *sweatdrop* So please enjoy this chapter while I try to get the last chapter out ASAP.'  
  
***  
  
Like stepping out of a sauna, Wufei shivered as cooler air hit him when he returned to the living room, the slight dampness from shower steam coating his clothes and skin turning to cold frost.  
  
"Something smells...pretty," Quatre commented, prompting the Chinese Preventer to turn pink.  
  
"That would Duo making my belongings reek of lavender vanilla," he grumbled, pulling at his dark blue tank top. "Because he knows that I would never hear the end of it from Sally and the others if I went back to work smelling -pretty-."  
  
"Oh no, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Heero smirked.  
  
"You know, I think I liked you better when you didn't talk so much, Yuy."  
  
"You break my heart Wufei."  
  
"Haha, very funny."  
  
"Really. I thought you had a thing for other Gundam pilots."  
  
"Certainly not for you!" Wufei retorted, then promptly clamped a hand over his mouth, horrified at what he just inadvertently admitted. Heero had a very smug look on his face...well as smug as it gets for the former Perfect Soldier at any rate. Trowa was openly snickering while Quatre appeared torn between reprimanding his lover and Heero or joining in the laughter.  
  
As if on cue, Duo's head popped out from the bedroom. "Hey...uh, 'Fei...can you come help me for a minute?" he asked, glancing over at Trowa oddly when he buried his face in Quatre's shoulder, shaking in muffled laughter. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," Wufei answered hastily, "Heero and I were just arguing." All but running into his bedroom, he heard Heero telling the ex- HeavyArms pilot that he needed to breathe as he closed the door. Wufei sighed and turned around, only to be frozen to the spot.  
  
Duo stood in front of him in naught but a towel tied to his waist, his wet hair still unbraided and hanging down to his thighs. His expression was apprehensive as he wrung his hairbrush handle nervously in his hands. Wufei instantly recognized the fidgety gesture and was at his side in a second.  
  
"What's wrong Duo?"  
  
"I- uh, well, it's stupid and embarrassing really...it's just..." he held up the brush. "Can you help me? I tried, but my arms got tired and I couldn't finish..." His face went red as he looked down at the carpet.  
  
Wufei gently put his hands over Duo's. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, you were sick for a long while, it's to be expected. But you'll be better again in no time, especially with all of us here to make sure," he smiled as Duo brought his head back up.  
  
"You're a real life saver, ya know that, Wu? You always seem to know the right things to say to make me feel better." "It's just luck," Wufei replied as they sat on the bed. His hands automatically went to the thick chestnut mane before him and began working out knots with the utmost care, as if they had done it for years in ritual.  
  
"How so?" Duo shivered when the Asian's attentive fingers brushed a sensitive spot on his skin.  
  
"You said yourself that I'm normally uptight, and I get called a bastard at least twenty times a day by Sally and Noin...of course, that's usually when I refuse to make them coffee when they don't feel like doing it themselves or call them insufferable women."  
  
"Yes, but I was only kidding when I said that. And Sally and Noin probably are 'insufferable women', so they have no room to talk," he snorted. "I, for one, honestly think that- oh God, that feels good..."  
  
Wufei blinked as Duo purred, practically melting into his touch when he ran his fingertips along the nape of his neck to gather his hair and begin braiding. "What? This?" He did it again with his free hand and got more shivers in response. "Duo?"  
  
"Damn, I think I need to take another shower. A very cold, cold shower."  
  
"But you just took one, what would you need another one for?" Wufei leaned forward just as Duo turned his head to look at him disbelievingly. The light flickering in his amethyst depths made it suddenly very hard to breathe properly and the next thing he knew was that his hands were moving from Duo's silky hair to his flushed face with a will of their own, pulling them even closer together.  
  
Eyes closing, their lips met in the most chaste of kisses and in it was poured all the feelings that had been building up since the day Wufei had entered the institution.  
  
For a fleeting second, fear threatened to take over.  
  
What if he was making another huge mistake?  
  
What if he just stepped over the line?  
  
What if he didn't feel the same way after all?  
  
But all fear was forgotten as Duo's arms snaked around his shoulders and their kiss went from innocent to intense in an instant. Then his legs wrapped around Wufei's waist, his weight pushing the Asian down onto his back and pinning him to the bed.  
  
Wufei felt like his heart was going to burst through his chest. It took every shred of willpower he had to break their embrace long enough to speak. "D- Duo, are you sure about this? I- I don't want to hurt you-"  
  
The fire burning in Duo's purple eyes sent chills down his spine and right into his lower regions as he smiled. "Don't worry so much about me, 'Fei..." his lowered his head and started nipping at sensitive spots on his throat. "...you should be more worried about what I'm about to do to you."  
  
"I- If- oh gods-"  
  
Wufei gave up trying to argue and let Duo take over.  
  
***  
  
"How long does it take to brush hair and braid it?" Heero and Quatre looked at Trowa as he stared at the closed door to Wufei's room.  
  
"What? I'm just curious, it's been almost half an hour already," Trowa pointed out calmly, eliciting an eyebrow raise from the former Wing pilot.  
  
Quatre suddenly turned a dark crimson and cleared his throat delicately. "Uh...I don't think we need to investigate into the matter."  
  
"Really?" Heero's other eyebrow rose.  
  
"Yes, yes I'm quite positive, in fact I think we should avoid their room for a good few hours and wait for them to come out on their own."  
  
Trowa took one glance at his blonde lover and his cool demeanor split once again into helpless laughter. Heero caught on immediately.  
  
"Well, it's about damn time."  
  
***  
  
*voice recorder* 'Please don't kill meh! I hope you enjoyed! Now I'm off to go work on the last chapter...and pray to the gods that it doesn't take so long to update next time.  
  
I thank everyone who reviewed, I would reply to each and every one of the beautiful reviews you guys left me, but that takes up time, and I'm being threatened to update now or be killed...so I"m opting to keep my life! I'll leave nice long replies to reviews on the end of the next chapter!  
  
Review if you don't hate me too much...*sweatdrop*' 


	16. Chapter 16 The End

Yeesh, I'm so horribly cliché when it comes to the end of my fics...*shakes head amusedly*  
  
*ahem* Anywho! Heylo minna-san! ^_^ I'm here to bring you an update and the final chapter to 'Imaginary'! I'm sorry I didn't get this up over Spring Break like I had promised, but better late than never, ne? *sweatdrop* I'm a terrible author with a bad sense of humor. -_-;  
  
But yeah, and to get the legal crap out of the way, I don't own the rights to Lacuna Coil's song 'Humane', nor do I own the rights to Hoobastank's song 'Lucky'. Oh, and I also don't own the rights to any literary titles mentioned in the this chapter, and most definitely don't own the rights to Shakespeare's 'Shall I Compare Thee To a Summer's Day?'. Yesh, for those who read my teaser last night on my livejournal, it was Shakespeare that Wufei is quoting. ^_^; He always seemed the closet romantic to me!  
  
***  
  
//You walk on by//  
  
//Without feeling to your stroll//  
  
//You walk alone//  
  
//Compromise//  
  
//It's just another contradiction//  
  
//You're not alone//  
  
//There's a place//  
  
//You've run away//  
  
//That is in your heart//  
  
After a week of being pampered like a king by Quatre, his sisters, and the occasional Wufei when he could beat them all away, at his and Trowa's home on L4, Duo was even better than he had been during the wars. The conversations between him and Wufei lasted hours every night while they lay together in bed.  
  
//In your heart//  
  
//Your love again//  
  
//There's a place to be afraid//  
  
//There's another chain to hold//  
  
//And you don't know//  
  
//You need it by your side//  
  
//Just let him know//  
  
Duo found out things about the Asian that shocked him, like who would have thought that he had only wanted to be a scholar and have nothing to do with the war? He had refused to pilot Shenlong for Master O until his wife had died. Wufei had laughed when he told Duo that Meilan used to call him the 'Boarding School Brat', even after they had gotten married, and would only answer to Nataku when a person spoke to her. The reason he was so critical of other women was because there were few who could compare to Meilan's strength, anyone who came close was to be given just as much respect as her. Wufei had told him how much it had hurt when OZ had destroyed his colony right in front of his very eyes, how it had felt like he had died with it and everyone on the colony. How he wished he could do more than just rebuild the colony and offer a home to the remaining clan members, but a person can't bring people back from the dead.  
  
//Your hell is when you dream//  
  
//And I'm awake//  
  
//Look into your heart//  
  
//Deep in your heart//  
  
//In your heart//  
  
//Your love again//  
  
//There is none for//  
  
//Love is not afraid//  
  
//In your heart//  
  
//Your love again//  
  
He knew that all too well. Duo had talked to Wufei about Solo and Sister Helen, how they had died in his arms just like Meilan had to him. He didn't even know what his real name was or if he even had one. Solo had called him Duo and he kept it, just as he took on Father Maxwell's last name after the church was destroyed. That was why he was Shinigami, because everyone close to him died and it was all his fault. Wufei hadn't been too happy about that particular comment and firmly reassured him that it wasn't true.  
  
One day at the end of the week, Duo came sneaking into the bedroom they shared after spending the morning on a secret 'mission' with Quatre, both arms draped in bags that immediately got shoved into the closet. He went out on the balcony where Wufei sat, submerged in a book.  
  
"Hey, 'Fei, whatcha reading? One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Or American Psycho?" he grinned, flopping down on the bench beside him and throwing his arms around his shoulders.  
  
"Very funny," Wufei replied dryly, smiling as he shut the book and took off his glasses. "It's Shakespeare."  
  
"Ah, so Hamlet and Macbeth."  
  
"No, actually it's 'Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?'"  
  
"I would have never pegged you the type for romantic poetry," Duo smirked.  
  
"Learn new things everyday, now don't you?" Wufei smirked back. "So what have you and Quatre scheming about all morning?" "Us? Scheme?" he widened his violet eyes innocently. "Now whatever would make you think we were -scheming-?"  
  
"The fact that you were up before I was and came sneaking back into the room a few minutes ago loaded down with shopping bags is a blatant giveaway," he deadpanned.  
  
"I know my stealth skills are a bit rusty, but yeesh...all right, all right," Duo stuck his tongue out childishly. "We're all going out for a night on the town. You -do- remember that promise you made me, ne? Well Q and I went out this morning to get us some spiffy clothes and tonight you, me, Q-bean, Unibang, Hee-chan, and the Lady Relena, when she gets here later, are going to have a good time."  
  
"Spiffy clothes?" Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Should I be afraid?"  
  
"Maaaybe," he grinned mischievously and kissed him on the cheek before hopping up. "Now I'm gonna go take a shower and clean up. No peeking at the stuff!"  
  
Wufei smiled as he watched his braided lover bounce back inside. "'Thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade...So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.'"  
  
"Oi! Are you gonna come join me, or not?"  
  
He shook his head amusedly. "I'll be there in a minute!" He picked up his book and glasses and went in to join Duo.  
  
***  
  
"Duo! You -are- insane if you and Quatre believe I'll leave this house dressed like this!"  
  
Wufei stood in the middle of the bedroom three hours later with his arms crossed and his chest puffed out indignantly. The outfit the two conspirators had chosen consisted of tight, form fitting black leather pants that was set off by a loose silver silk shirt and black boots.  
  
"What kind of place are we going to that requires a this kind of dress code?" His irritation was quashed when Duo came out of the bathroom in similar attire and looking pretty damn good, the exception being that his shirt was a soft amethyst color. "I take that back, if I'm anywhere near as appealing as you are at the moment, then I think I'll survive."  
  
"Oh, I do believe that you're competition enough," Duo purred, eliciting an adorable blush from the Chinese teen. "The only thing that would make it even were if you were to..." He pulled out his rubber band, letting his ebony locks flow around his shoulders, "...leave your hair down. It goes a lot better with the ethereal look than your tight ponytail."  
  
"Ethereal, hm? Well, tonight is your night to celebrate, so whatever you want, you'll have," Wufei smiled and kissed him softly.  
  
"I will definitely be getting my way when we get home," Duo said seductively. "Because as sexy as you look in those clothes, I just wanna say 'screw everyone else' and take them off."  
  
The flush crept back into his cheeks. "Later, wo ai, later. Right now it's time to celebrate with 'everyone else', then we can have our own little party."  
  
"I'm gonna hold you to it. Let's go find the others before I change my mind," Duo took Wufei by the hand and dragged him out into the corridor. In the foyer, the other two couples were already waiting. Upon their entering the room, Quatre and Relena whistled appreciatively.  
  
"Who is this man and what have you done with Wufei, Duo?" the blonde Arabian teased.  
  
"Honestly, you people are going to give me an inflated ego if you continue with this nonsense."  
  
"That's still Wufei," Trowa smirked.  
  
"So what's this place we're going to again?" Relena asked, taking Heero by the arm as they all went outside and got into a limousine.  
  
"It's a really nice nightclub called the Elixir, and since it's one of Q- man and the Unibang's favorite places to go, it'll be awesome for sure," Duo replied cheerfully, looking quite comfortable as he leaned back into Wufei's warm embrace.  
  
"I'm glad you have such faith in us," Quatre said amusedly.  
  
"Hell, look at the number we did on 'Fei! If we can make -him- look drop dead gorgeous, then I'm willing to have faith in just about anything."  
  
"Ah, I suppose I was only mediocre before, now I'm up to your standards," Wufei quipped.  
  
"I don't know, you are pretty naïve when it comes to things like that," Heero joined in. "I had to practically beat you to get you to realize your feelings."  
  
"I never noticed," he replied dryly.  
  
Relena chuckled. "Come on, boys, play nice."  
  
"Aw, but that takes all the fun out of it," Duo pouted.  
  
"It's fine. I'm in too good of a mood to lower myself with childish bickering."  
  
"I was wondering why he's in such high spirits," Trowa remarked suggestively.  
  
The former Deathscythe pilot winked lecherously. "If you really wanna know..."  
  
"Duo..."  
  
"Oh, would you look at that! We're here already!" Quatre cut in purposely, receiving a very grateful sigh from a beet-red Relena and Wufei as they came to a stop.  
  
Inside the club was a large dance floor lined in moving sapphire lights, surrounded by matching tables and cushioned seats. The room was lit by blacklight, making any fluorescent color stand out considerably, and to enhance the effect further, strobes were set in each corner, giving the club a surreal feel to it.  
  
Quatre and Trowa led them to a booth in one of the corners where it was more secluded and they didn't have to worry about anyone bothering them.  
  
"I love this place," Quatre smiled. "You can leave your identity outside the door, come in here and relax."  
  
//I knew how it felt to be another one in need//  
  
//Of someone to show me the way//  
  
//Until you saw a part of me//  
  
//That nobody else could see//  
  
//And my life hasn't been the same...//  
  
Duo grabbed Wufei by the arm and pulled him up out of the seat. "Come on, dance with me 'Fei!"  
  
His charcoal eyes went wide, "Uh- I don't think that's such a good idea, I don't even know how to dance-"  
  
"Hey, if you can do all that crazy martial arts stuff, it'll be easy," Duo reassured.  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts!"  
  
//You make me feel lucky as I can be...//  
  
//You make me feel...//  
  
He stopped in the middle of the dance floor and stood in front of his Chinese lover. "Here. First, you put your hands here-" Duo took his hands and placed them around his waist, "-and I put mine up here-" He wrapped his arms around Wufei's shoulders, holding him close. "See? I told you, it's easy. Now the only thing you've gotta worry about is stepping on people's feet."  
  
When Duo smiled brilliantly at him as they danced, Wufei felt that same strange, new emotion flare up in his chest from the first time he had smiled that way at him. Butterflies replaced his insides and suddenly it seemed like nothing else mattered than to be where he belonged...with Duo.  
  
//No more dark days//  
  
//Only sun rays//  
  
//No more hard ways//  
  
//With you today//  
  
//You make me feel lucky as I can be...//  
  
//You make me feel...//  
  
"Duo..." Wufei wrapped his arms tighter around his waist and captured Duo's lips with his own in a sweet, passionate kiss. "...I love you."  
  
He searched deep in his obsidian gaze with expectation. "Do you really mean it?"  
  
"From the depths of my soul, wo ai," Wufei brought up a hand to caress his face. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."  
  
Glowing, Duo's expression almost split in half with the largest grin imaginable as he launched himself at him and returned the intense kiss. "I love you, too Wufei."  
  
//You make me feel...//  
  
//You make me feel as lucky as I can be...//  
  
//You make me feel...//  
  
After that night, the voices never came back again.  
  
***  
  
I liked this chapter. ^_^ I think it's one of the better of all the ending chapters in my fics...but that's only my humble opinion. I'm sure I'll have some readers going 'Wtf is that?' *sweatdrop*  
  
But yeah, so I hoped you all liked it! ^_^ I'll have some artwork for 'Imaginary' up soon, and keep an eye out on my Livejournal and all for the start of 'Midnight Masquerade'!! ^_^  
  
Review! Flame! Whichever suits your fancy works for me...^_^; 


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